Firewhiskey Kisses
by Amelia Letter
Summary: "He's fit all right, but he's as dumb as a post." "I heard he snogs better than firewhiskey." "Nothing is beter than Firewhiskey. Nothing." Rachel Fredricks can't believe her ears. Sirius Black's snogs were not better than Firewhiskey. Of course, Rachel has been wrong before. SB/OC
1. Drunk in Hogsmeade

**A/N: Yes, this really is Amelia publishing her first Harry Potter fanfiction. Basically, I got inspiration for a Sirius/OC one-shot when I was on Tumblr and saw a post about Harry describing kissing Ginny and how it was "better than firewhiskey". So read and review ok :) (it's a lot of dialogue, I know and I apologize)**

**Warning: There's some swearing... if you don't like that then oops.**

* * *

Rachel Fredricks was sitting in the crowded Three Broomsticks with her fellow sixth years and friends Lily Evans and Dorcas Meadowes, the three of them patiently waiting for their other friend Marlene McKinnon to haul her bum to the bar already so they could all go to Honeydukes.

Though, in all honesty, the girls already knew there was no point in waiting, because Marlene was not "waiting" with the Ravenclaw a year ahead of them.

"Let's just order something," Rachel suggested. "You woke me up at five in the morning because you couldn't decide what to wear, so you owe me."

"I didn't wake you up," Dorcas said. "My cat did." She ordered three firewhiskeys anyways.

"Yeah," Rachel replied. "Lily and Sniffles the cat ruined my soundless sleep. The situation is that much better."

"It was an important matter," Lily defended.

"Lily, you should know this by now, but I'll tell it to you again," Rachel started. "At five in the morning, _nothing_ is important. I could have You-Know-Who creepily looming over me and I still wouldn't give a rat's ass."

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't care because you wouldn't notice. Sniffles was on you for twenty minutes before you finally woke up."

"And?" Rachel asked. "Are you jealous of my sleeping abilities?"

Lily snorted. "The only reason you sleep like a hibernating bear is because you stay up until three in the morning," she said. "You don't have a boyfriend, you have no excuse to stay up that late."

"You don't have a boyfriend," Rachel stated.

"I don't stay up until three in the morning either," Lily replied.

"… Touché."

"Well, hey Lily," Dorcas started. "What if there's something good ol' Rachel isn't telling us? What if she _does _have a boyfriend?"

This time, it was Rachel's turn to snort. "Right, sure I do, Dorcas," she said. "Need I go through the list again?"

"Well, don't go saying no one would date you!" Dorcas exclaimed. "You know that's not true."

"I don't particularly care," Rachel replied. "I'm just not interested."

"And the boys at this school aren't of particular attractiveness," Lily supported. "Potter being the worst."

"No one mentioned James, Lily," Rachel said with a small smile on her face.

"I did," Lily replied smartly.

Rachel smirked evilly, "Exactly."

Lily rolled her eyes, but even in the dim light of the Three Broomsticks, Rachel saw her cheeks tint red. Rachel smiled a bit at her success as the three mugs of firewhiskey they had ordered earlier appeared in front of them.

"Anyways," Rachel started. "Back to Lily's point, there really aren't any fit boys in this school. Not even any particularly bright."

"Well, if we're talking about looks, there's always Sirius Black," Dorcas mentioned quietly, already fully aware of the oncoming storm.

"Oh, don't you even get me started on Black," Rachel said. She shook her head harshly and took a strong sip of her firewhiskey. "That _twat_ threw my book bag in the lake and planted doxies on my bed curtains. If I even see or hear mere mention of him…"

"I'm just saying he _is_ attractive," Dorcas said. "And, according to most of the female population of this school, a great snogger."

"Next joke please," Rachel scoffed. "Do you honestly believe everything that comes out of these girls' mouths? And—"

"Including the size of—"

"—honestly, how good of a snogger can he be?" Rachel finished.

"Oh, you'd flip a table or something if I told you what Irene Thatcher told me," Dorcas said quickly. "You honestly wouldn't be able to handle it."

Rachel rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh please, you're acting as if it's the end of the world," she said. "Come on, try me."

Dorcas hesitated before sighing and saying, "Irene got back one night looking like she just got mauled by a bear and—"

"Mauled by a bear, such talent at snogging," Rachel commented sarcastically. Dorcas glared at her. "Yes, do go on."

"Anyways, I was the only one up and she just stumbled up to me with this huge smile on her face and said 'I just snogged Sirius Black in a broom closet,'" Dorcas said. "Which, personally, is not as far as Gertrude Miller got, but moving on. I played along and asked her how it was and she said, word for word, 'it was better than firewhiskey'."

That was enough to make Rachel choke on her own firewhiskey.

"I told you you couldn't handle it," Dorcas said smugly.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but Irene is stretching the truth here," Rachel said once she regained her breathing. "_Nothing _is better than firewhiskey."

"Does it bother you that you haven't snogged him?"

"Oh, please—"

"Or that something could be better than firewhiskey?"

"Shut it!" Lily exclaimed. "We'll figure this out when Marlene gets here. She snogged him, right?"

"Well… yes, last year," Dorcas said simply. She gave Rachel a challenging look. "Problem with that?"

Rachel returned the look. "No, of course not."

They sat in silence and, in her bout of anger, Rachel even ordered a second mug of firewhiskey. She was going to regret the decision the next morning, but for now, she didn't really care. Fortunately, Marlene did eventually arrive, clothes and hair askew. Just as expected.

"So, now that _you_ are here," Rachel drawled in her drunken state. "We need to ask you something."

Marlene raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly as she sat down at the table. Dorcas watched with anticipation and Lily bit her lip nervously.

"Is that twat of a human being, Black, a good snogger?" Rachel asked clumsily.

Marlene looked taken aback, but not phased. She was always the cool, calm, and collected one. "What brought on this topic?"

Rachel clumsily gestured towards Dorcas. "Ms. Meadowes over here says that Thatcher told her that Black is a mighty good snogger. Better than firewhiskey, she says."

"Well, I wouldn't say better than firewhiskey," Marlene replied. "He's fit, and it was one of the best snogs of my life, but not better than firewhiskey. Nothing's better than firewhiskey."

"Ha!" Rachel exclaimed loudly, causing Dorcas to jump in her seat. "He's _not_ better than firewhiskey. So, in concluding—"

"Conclusion," Lily interrupted.

"Yes, thank you Lily," Rachel said. "In _conclusion_, he may be fit, but he's as dumb as a post and his snogs are _not _better than firewhiskey," Rachel finalized. She paused for a second and then frowned. "Wait a second, what exactly were you trying to prove?"

Dorcas smiled slyly. Whenever she did that, Rachel thought she could be a Slytherin. "Well, I brought Black up because you said you weren't interested in anyone," Dorcas started. "And, personally, you and Black would fit like a wick and a flame."

Rachel choked on her firewhiskey, for the second time that day.

"_What _did you just say?" she asked sharply.

"Dorcas is right," Marlene spoke out suddenly. "You both are a lot alike."

Rachel turned to Lily in desperation. Lily bit her lip nervously. "I'm no good at lying," she said.

Rachel groaned in frustration and let her head fall on the table. She couldn't believe she had wasted all that time to find out how good of a snogger Black was, only to have her friends tell her that they think her and Black would "work". And she was drunk. How about no.

And it's not like she actually believe he was a good snogger.

Or even looked fit.

Because that would be just plain ridiculous.

"I'm going for a stroll," Rachel mumbled as she stood up from her stool and stumbled out of the bar.

She walked around Hogsmeade for a while, not very steady on her feet. Most of her surroundings were either blurry or multiplied several times. Once she reached the Shrieking Shack, she decided to sit down on a nearby stump. She couldn't walk around drunk much longer. Rachel rubbed her cold hands against her face, trying to wake herself up. She gave up and looked up towards the forest behind the shack.

And that was when the snowball hit her.

Straight in the face.

She yelped loudly as she fell backwards, her back taking most of the damage, and rolled of the stump until she was lying face-first in the snow. She angrily scrambled up, but she stood up too quickly and immediately got dizzy and started to fall again. Except this time she was suspended in midair.

Rachel yelped once more and jumped away, stumbling a bit and almost tripping over her own feet. She tried to blink out her drunkenness. The air before her shifted to reveal a smirking Sirius Black. Her confusion quickly boiled to a flashing hot anger.

"You swine!" she shrieked. She charged forward and pushed him with each insult, "You twat, scoundrel, and arrogant bastard!"

Sirius laughed loudly, only making Rachel angrier.

"What do you find so funny?" she demanded. "You've caused enough damage to me this week and you try to ambush me like a six year-old when I can't even see straight!" Her words were meant to come out sharp, but because of her drunken state they came out quite slurred.

Sirius cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Someone's drunk, I see," he said. "And if you really must know, I enjoy knowing that I can make you angry so easily."

"Oh, please, don't patronize me," Rachel sneered. "I can smell the firewhiskey on your breath from right over here."

"Ah, but I'm not drunk," Sirius gloated.

Rachel eyed him carefully before retorting, "Fuck you, Black."

"Stingy, I see," he remarked.

"Always, when it concerns you."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll leave you then and I won't tell you why I decided to 'ambush you like a six year-old'."

Rachel didn't reply. Her face showed no emotion. Sirius turned to leave. Rachel bit her lip. Her curiosity always came back and bit her in the ass. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she said, "Well, what is it, you chav."

Sirius turned around with a mischievous smile and walked back, taking his sweet time. He walked back slowly, and when he reached Rachel, he pulled out a cigarette. Rachel felt her anger bubbling again.

She slapped his hand and the stupid thing fell in the snow, "I hate smoking," she said.

"Aw, but that's why I was doing it, love," he replied, that stupid smirk still clouding his face.

Rachel glared at him. "Just say what you have to say, you sodding idiot."

Sirius smirked and leaned in close to her. He was so close she could see that his eyes were truly grey, not black, as she previously believed. She could see every wrinkle of stress in his forehead. Rachel tensed up.

"Marlene has a bit of a big mouth," he whispered. She could feel the smell of firewhiskey on his breath as he spoke, but the realization of what he said came much more quickly than his alcohol breath.

Her eyes widened as she stumbled back and muttered a low, "Fuck off," before turning and walking away.

This was not good. She could already imagine the rumors tomorrow. Rachel the Slag tried to jump the infamous Sirius Black. She hated him. Why would he be so cruel to her?

That's when her left arm was yanked, she was spun around, and Sirius' warm lips found hers.

It was nothing like she expected. She expected him to be sloppy and rough. When Sirius Black chose his girls, Rachel was sure he didn't bother with quality, mostly because a lot of them were easy. But he was the exact opposite. It was an unbelievably gentle kiss from the prime Beater of the Gryffindor team. Gentle, but firm and sure. And so amazing that it felt like there were little sparks of electricity dancing along her lips.

And, as much as she hated to admit it, it was _much _better than firewhiskey.

And he was quite fit too.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, it's terrible. For the record, they're all sixth years and all in Gryffindor :)**

**-Any grammar issues?  
-If there are any Whovians out there... spot the Doctor Who reference ;)  
-My friend Rachel actually forced me to make her the OC... How was the character? (the real person is truly amazing, I guarantee)  
-Favourite part? Least favourite part? Anything you hated?**

_**Amelia :) xx**_


	2. Hangovers and Fit Blokes

**A/N: Gah, because someone wanted me to write more so I decided why the hell not :). More of my dear friend Rachel… she's rather happy about this. And thank you to the reviewers, I looooovvvveee you :)**

* * *

Rachel always knew when she was about to wake up. Her dreams started to become blurrier and less vivid, she felt less at rest, and she could feel her eyes pulling apart, as hard as she tried to keep them closed. She stretched her arms, still cherishing that her eyes were remaining closed. Nevertheless, she couldn't deny that it was one of the best sleeps of her life.

Despite the fact that she got drunk the evening before.

Her eyes snapped open.

She got drunk.

_Well wait_, Rachel thought to herself, _this has happened before. Lily always keeps a close eye on me._

Shit, she left Lily in the Three Broomsticks.

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

_Okay_, Rachel thought frantically, _I'll just calm down because I'm most likely in the dorm. It's all good._

She let out a breath she had no idea she was holding and turned on her left side.

"Ahh!"

Rachel screamed rather loudly and fell out of the bed, landing on the floor with a loud thump, face first.

Another human being in her bed, why was there another human being in her bed?

"Bloody hell," the person grumbled. From what Rachel could tell, the person was male. And had quite the attractive morning voice.

He looked over the edge.

"_Fuck_," Rachel said. It came out as a cross between a gasp and a yell. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

It was _Black_.

She did not sleep with Sirius Black.

She did not.

And he did _not _ have an attractive morning voice.

Rachel scrambled up and slapped herself lightly to wake herself up. She blinked a few times and looked around the room. The dorm look unfamiliar. And filthy.

Of course. She was in the boys' dormitory.

Fuck, she _did _sleep with Sirius Black.

She looked back at the said male.

"Why are you shirtless?" she snapped.

"That's not the usual reaction I get to the situation," Sirius replied.

"Are you wearing pants?" Rachel asked frantically, ignoring Sirius' previous comment. "You better be wearing pants."

"That's not how it works, love. You have to get rid of the pants," Sirius replied. Rachel's eyes widened angrily and Sirius laughed.

Rachel groaned and sat on the edge of the bed, holding her head between her legs. She had to try to calm down and remember what happened in Hogsmeade. She could barely remember anything from when she left Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas, and even that was blurry.

"What did I do?" she asked. "Did I streak through Hogsmeade? Smash the china in Madam Puddifoot's? Oh no, did I snog Snape?"

"As entertaining as it would have been to watch you do all those things," Sirius started, "or watch you believe you did all those things, I'm going to be kind and say, no, you did none of that."

Rachel sent a quick glare his way before hanging her head and resting her elbows on her thighs.

She sighed. "Then what the bloody hell did I do?"

She already knew he was smirking, the bloody idiot.

Sirius stretched out comfortably on the bed, but Rachel only shifted away and turned to glare at him some more.

His attitude did not falter.

"Well," he started, "after quite the quality snog, I decided I'd be ever the gentleman and personally take you back to your room."

"Personally, wow," Rachel said sarcastically. "You usually pay someone for that part of the deal, no? Or do you just send them off on their own, drunk and dazed?"

It seemed that her sarcasm only amused him further. "Anyways, once we got back, you'd passed out already," he continued. "And I don't know what bloody spell you use on your dorms, but no one of the male specimen can even get in—"

"That's the idea, yes," Rachel interrupted.

"So this was the only option."

"So I didn't do anything ridiculous?" Rachel asked. Sirius shook his head. "And," she started as she gestured between the two of them, "nothing else but the snog in Hogsmeade?"

"That's right," Sirius said. "Unless you want to change that right now."

Rachel rolled her eyes and let her head fall against the bedpost. A little too hard. She cringed as her skull made contact with the wood and only worsened her hangover. She knew she would regret all that drinking. Rachel sighed and stood up, getting a bit dizzy but managing to stay on her feet.

"Well, then," she said. "I better go and sort things out with Lily at breakfast. Thank goodness it's a Saturday."

"And risk everyone in the common room seeing you exit the boys' dormitory in the clothes of the night before?" Sirius asked mockingly. "I congratulate your bravery."

She rolled her eyes once more. Honestly, she might as well have been staring at the ceiling all morning if that ridiculous prat was going to keep saying idiotic things. She turned towards him.

"If you must know, it's going to cause me great suffering," Rachel replied sarcastically. "But I think I'll survive."

She gave Sirius a cold stare. However, on the inside, she couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with her friends. She would admit that he was quite fit. Very fit. Of course, all Beaters were fit, but it wasn't a regular basis you got to see them with their shirts off. Or maybe she had once or twice, but she never really paid attention.

And aside from being fit, Rachel was remembering the snog. That snog that she couldn't help but admit that it truly was better than firewhiskey. He was fit, a phenomenal snogger, and he was lying half-naked right in front of her, already having semi-offered himself for sexual purposes.

But he was still as dumb as a post. And Rachel would hold onto that one string of hope whenever she might see Black shirtless again at a Quidditch practice or if they ever happen to both be trapped in a broom closet.

Because if he _wasn't _as dumb as a post, then that would make him perfect, and that just would not do for Rachel.

"So if you're leaving me already," he drawled as he slowly got out of bed. Rachel steeled herself and kept her eyes on his face. Not that that made much of a difference. "I guess I'll see you at Quidditch practice, Fredricks."

She smiled tightly. "Right, Quidditch practice."

And with that, she walked out the door.

* * *

"Why would I do that, why would I snog—" Rachel paused before saying, "_him_."

"Because, as I said yesterday, you would be good for each other, as the term goes," Dorcas said.

Rachel turned toward her friend. "Alice and Frank are good for each other. _This _is not good."

"So it wasn't a good snog?" Marlene asked.

"I didn't say that, but Dorcas is implying a _relationship_," Rachel hissed. "No. Thanks."

"Then don't make it a relationship," Marlene said matter-of-factly. "Just shag him whenever you want. He's already groveling at your feet. You are clearly on his hit list."

"I'm flattered," Rachel said sarcastically. Her face turned to on of disgust as she pushed away her eggs.

"Well, you can avoid him for the weekend. You don't have Quidditch practice, do you?" Lily asked.

Rachel turned towards her and nodded. "I do. At noon. James stacked the practices because the next game is against Slytherin."

"Oh, poor you," Marlene said sarcastically. "You get to hang around fit Quidditch guys until Fletchley heals up again."

"Just… avoid the change rooms," Lily suggested.

Rachel gave Lily a look of disbelief. "You're kidding, right? That's your grand plan?"

"You know what, if this is such a big issue," Dorcas started, "you're only Reserve Seeker. What, you'll be in Fletchley's spot for one week? Maybe two? You'll survive."

Rachel let her head fall on the wooden table and groaned.

"How do I even get involved in these things?"

* * *

**All right, so here's the deal: if anyone wants me to continue this, it will officially be put on an "In Progress". If not, then it remains a two-shot (which it most likely will because I'm a terrible writer and no one really has read this so...)**

**Anyways!**

**-Want me to continue?  
****-How's my grammar/spelling?  
****-Any OOC?  
****-What do you think of Rachel? (I mean the character, not the person)**

**Hasta la vista :) -Amelia x**


	3. Quidditch Practice and Creepy Clubs

**A/N: Because you guys demanded the continuation… this story is officially in progress :). It most likely won't have many dark turns or something. It's just a humorous Marauders Era fic. I _might _have a depressing epilogue (we'll see). And I'm not sure how long it'll be yet :)**

**Thank you to the WONDERFUL reviewers, once more (: you guys help me out a LOT!**

* * *

"This is ridiculous, Potter, I feel like I'm going to a Halloween party."

Rachel had quickly decided that she did not like Quidditch robes. At all.

"Oh, come off it," James said. "It's not that bad."

Rachel held back from saying 'well of course not, you dolt, you've been playing it your whole life'.

To be honest, she blamed Jacob Fletchley for letting that Hufflepuff beater (a _Hufflepuff Beater_, for fuck's sake) send a good whack to his skull. It was an illegal move, but Fletchley was still in the infirmary, recovering slower than a snail could run.

Which left James with the option to bring in his Reserve Seeker.

The only reason Rachel had ever tried out for Reserve Seeker was because she knew they were never used yet she would still be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team (a prime success in the eyes of the Ministry). Besides, it was the only spot she could play. She was short and fast, not only on her feet but also on a broom.

However, she did not like balls the size of boulders whizzing by her head.

"And I have seen you fly," James continued. "You're fast. Seekers need to be fast."

"Yeah, I'm fast," said Rachel. "When I don't have metal balls trying to murder me. Or Slytherins on my tail."

"Look, don't worry about the metal balls or the Slytherins," James said. "Well, worry about Regulus because he's their Seeker, but that's it. All you have to worry about is Regulus and this little golden snitch." He pulled out the infamous whizzing devil.

He let it go and it whizzed out of sight.

"Let's see how many times you can catch it in three hours," James said. "Good luck!"

She watched James prance off happily to his Beaters, Black and Jenkins. The prat.

Sirius caught her eye. He smirked at her.

The arrogant toerag.

She resentfully mounted her broom and kicked off.

* * *

"That _twat _of a Quidditch captain!" Rachel exclaimed as she entered the girls' dormitory. She threw down her sopping Quidditch goggles. "Three hours, he says. Do you know what time it is? It is _nine at night_!"

Marlene grimaced in Rachel's direction, "You're sopping wet and covered in mud."

Rachel rolled her eyes and shrugged off the stupid Quidditch robes. She sat down heavily on the floor and leaned her back against her bed. Lily sat beside her.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, just peachy," Rachel grumbled. "It's been a fantastic weekend."

Lily gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, maybe things will look up tomorrow. Potter's not allowed to schedule Quidditch on Sundays, is he?"

Rachel shook her head lightly.

Lily smiled. "See? Already better."

Rachel sighed and let her head tiredly fall on Lily's shoulder. "I guess. And I can catch up on my homework as well. Because I am as tired as a Death Eater without his servants right now. I'm going straight to bed."

The girls laughed. Rachel did always have a way with words.

The door opened and a brightly smiling Irene entered.

"Hey there, gals," she greeted brightly. "Did I miss anything?" she paused and looked at Rachel. "My, it looks like you've been dragged through mud!"

"… By a bludger," Rachel mumbled.

Irene frowned slightly then shook her head. "Anyways, since you guys are here, I guess I'll share the intriguing news with you," she said. "So, I was just talking to the girls in the Spotter Club and—"

"Did you just say the _Potter _Club?" Lily interrupted, gaping stupidly at Irene.

"_Spotter _Club, Lily. The one where they stalk boys," Rachel said. She turned to Irene. "She hears what she wants to."

Marlene stifled a laugh.

"Anyways," Irene continued. "_None _of the girls could spot Sirius yesterday in Hogsmeade!" she exclaimed as if this is fascinating news. "Which is just raving mad, he's always getting drunk on these trips," she added with a giggle.

This time Dorcas stifled her laughter.

"What a surprise," Dorcas said. "Rachel gets drunk on these trips, as well."

"Oh, stuff it, Meadowes," Rachel scowled.

"Bloody hell!"

The girls turned their attention to the door as they heard a body tumble down what seemed to be a set of stairs.

What idiot of the male species was trying to get into the girls' dormitory?

Rachel stood up and walked over to the door. She opened it and rolled her eyes immediately. Of course it was Potter.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" she asked.

"A better question is why the bloody hell is this place so damn protected?" he retorted.

"Hi James!" Irene greeted cheerfully over Rachel's shoulder. She winced as Irene's shrill voice pierced her ear.

"Oh, can I never catch a break…" Lily muttered behind her.

"Hi Lily!" James greeted, although he couldn't see her.

_One day_, Rachel remarked, _she's going to give in and marry the bloke. And then I'll have a new reason to tease her._

"Why are you here?" I asked. "Because I'm not coming out to practice again. Just letting you know."

"Ever?" James asked.

Rachel paused. "We'll see."

"Right, well, you left your scarf in the stands," he said, tossing it at her. Rachel dodged it and let it fall on the floor. She frowned.

"I wasn't it the stands," she said. "It's not mine."

She picked it up to throw it back at him, but Lily grabbed the scarf from her hands before she could. "It's mine," she said. She looked at James. "Thanks."

And then she slammed the door shut.

Lily was such a sociable person.

* * *

Rachel shut her book and set it on the nightstand as she moved to close the curtains around her four-poster bed. She curled up on her side and grasped the duvet cover tightly. The past two days had been so odd and they exhausted her out for some reason.

She never thought she'd snog Sirius Black. From the moment she saw him, she knew he was bad news. He was someone Rachel would always try to avoid and, if she could help it, feel rather indifferent about. But this was not the case.

Especially since that was one top-notch snog.

And ever since she left the boys' dormitory early that Saturday morning all she had been thinking about was when she'd snog him next or get to see his rather attractive half-naked body again.

But she didn't want to jump him. No, the situation hadn't escalated to that yet, and hopefully it wouldn't.

But as Rachel felt her eyelids drop and her body enter a deep slumber, there was no denying that she was already attracted to Sirius Black, no matter how many times she told herself that he really was as dumb as a post.

And, she did not know it then, but there would be no turning back.

* * *

**Wow, I feel kind of bad about this chapter. It wasn't very good :| Anyways, just letting you guys know that the latest I'll be updating is Friday, if I can't get on sooner :)**

**-Sirchel or Ririus? ;)  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-And how's Irene? As annoying as I'm shooting for?**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)**


	4. Smelly Potions

**A/N: Hello again :) It's been awhile since my last update! So sorry, but it's the weekend once more so I am now entering updating mode ;)**

**Thank you for reading!**

* * *

"Rise and shine, buttercup!" Marlene yelled enthusiastically as she pulled the curtains to Rachel's bed aside, letting all of the light in the dormitory stream in.

Rachel turned to the opposite side of her bed resentfully and mumbled into her pillow, "Fuck you, I was sleeping."

"Yeah, about that," Marlene started. "I understand it's Sunday and all, but you slept four hours longer than you did Friday."

Rachel rolled on her back and groaned. Her eyes opened slowly and she saw Marlene looming over her, already looking picture perfect. "It doesn't feel four hours longer," she grumbled.

"Well, you didn't sleep in your own bed Friday night," Marlene pointed out smugly.

Rachel glared at her. "This whole subject area is off limits. I regret everything."

"You regret it even though it was a good snog?" Marlene asked smartly.

"I never said it was a good snog," Rachel retorted quickly.

"You never said it was bad either."

"Oh, fuck off already," said Rachel as she rolled out of bed on the opposite side Marlene was on. "I'm pretending it never happened, so it never happened."

"But it did," Marlene sing-songed.

"Not if," Rachel began, "I say it didn't and Irene runs through that door right now and brings 'enlightening' news. One has already happened. As for the second—"

And that was when the door burst open and Irene ran in excitedly.

Marlene really disliked Rachel's cockiness sometimes.

And her foolproof ability to be right.

"Oh. My God!" Irene exclaimed. She ran and hugged the first person in sight. Unfortunately, Rachel was in the line of fire. She almost fell to the floor in her tired daze. "You won't guess the amazing news!"

Rachel managed to wrench her off. She stumbled back a bit and grabbed onto a bedpost before falling over. "No, I won't. So why don't you tell me?" she breathed out quickly.

"Sirius is back to snogging!" she squealed. "Since around Wednesday, he hadn't really snogged anyone at all, but now he's back," she added cheerfully.

_Yeah, since Wednesday and until Friday, when he attacked me with snowballs and gave me the snog of my life_, Rachel wanted to say.

Instead, she said, "And how exactly do you know this?"

"Because Gertrude Miller _just _snogged him!" she exclaimed. "She just told me!"

Rachel held back a grimace. Honestly, these girls were imbeciles.

But deep down, she felt a pang of hurt. _He _had chased after her and shamelessly teased her and now he just moved onto whatever slag was waiting in line before. It was as if that evening in Hogsmeade meant nothing.

_It _did _mean nothing_, Rachel sternly reminded herself. She would not go down the 'Black Alley', even if it were the last thing she did.

Rachel grabbed her clothes off of her dresser and turned to Irene with a smile, "Congrats to Gertrude. She seems to be his favourite."

Rachel walked away and went into the washroom. She locked the door and splashed some cold water on her face. Rachel looked in the mirror. Dark circles were surrounding her copper eyes and her short, light brown hair had knots and split ends in random parts.

This was making her far too exhausted.

* * *

Rachel sat down heavily at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall to eat her breakfast. She rested her head in her hand and clumsily ate her cereal. She tried at least to get the soggy corn flakes into her mouth and not spill them onto her lap in her tired daze.

Lily sat down and smiled softly. "Morning, grumps," she greeted. "How's life?"

Rachel only grunted in response. Lily gave her a look that said 'how ladylike'.

Marlene snuck up behind Rachel and proceeded to sit next to her, saying, "Don't worry about her, Lils, she's just deprived of her sleep, as always."

"It's starting to worry me," Lily muttered into her waffles.

"No need to be worried," Rachel managed to get out through a mouthful of cornflakes.

Lily grimaced. "Beautiful."

* * *

Charms went by surprisingly smoothly and Herbology was a chance for Rachel to catch up on her sleep. Transfiguration went as usual: Rachel was constantly bugged by Potter and Black and had McGonagall keeping a close eye on her (as she had since third year when Rachel made a water goblet explode). History of Magic was another chance to catch up on sleep.

And then came Potions.

Double-block Potions. There went Rachel's good day.

It wasn't so much that Rachel hated Potions. She felt fairly neutral to the class and the only reason she had worked her butt off last year to just barely scrape an E in the subject was so she could have Slughorn as a teacher. As much as she annoyed the professor, she always enjoyed the lessons he taught.

But she was absolutely rubbish at Potions.

She arrived in the classroom and all the desks and tables were pushed up against the walls and people were filing in and crowding at the front of the classroom where Slughorn stood behind a table. The table held a few cauldrons and vials.

"Ah, welcome everybody to Sixth Year Potions!" he greeted as people slowly trickled in.

Rachel wove her way to the front next to Lily, Mary MacDonald, and Alice Perth. Mary was a petite, even shorter than Rachel (who was quite short), girl with light blonde hair and blue eyes that glazed over whenever she spaced out. She was a muggle-born, so she always got the worst of the Slytherins. It was the reason Rachel kept close to the girl.

Alice was the ideal golden girl, right up there next to Lily. She had O's in all of her classes and was a top notch Chaser. On top of all that, she spent her summers volunteering at St. Mungo's and in the Ministry. It was no surprise when she had started dating the Head Boy, Frank Longbottom.

Rachel leaned towards Lily and asked, "What are we doing today?"

Lily's nose twitched ever so slightly as she tried to keep a look of displeasure off of her face. "Amortentia," she replied. "Should be a short class though."

Oh no. Love potions.

Honestly, it was like fate was purposely being cliché. This wasn't funny. It was just plain ridiculous. Amortentia and snogging Sirius Black, all in the time length of three days. It was like she was getting all the tough breaks.

"Ah, we must have everyone here by now, yes?" Slughorn asked.

James and Sirius happened to stumble in at that moment. Even Remus, who was standing beside Rachel, let out a sigh and shook his head. He must have been quite used to it by then.

Lily, however, felt more strongly towards the situation.

"How did those two dolts pass Potions?" Lily hissed.

"Brilliant question, Lily," Remus whispered. "I've asked myself that everyday since the news was let out."

Remus was honestly the only decent Marauder, in Rachel's opinion anyway.

"Now that we finally have _everyone_ here," Slughorn said pointedly, "let us begin."

He removed the lid to a cauldron and asked, "Can anyone tell me what this is? Oh, yes, Lily?"

"That is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world," Lily began. "It can cause powerful infatuation and obsession in the drinker and it smells different to everyone, according to what smells they find most comforting or alluring."

"Don't need a love potion for that," James said cockily. Lily rolled her eyes.

"And what do you smell, Lily?" Slughorn asked, deterring from the subject. He had a proud smile on his face. Lily had always been his star student.

Lily's cheeks tinted red slightly as she leaned forward to take a sniff. She closed her eyes as she said, "I smell… muffins, like my mother made them, the seaside, rain, and…" she frowned, "worn leather?"

"Hmm, odd," Slughorn pondered. "All right then, everyone line up! You'll all get a turn to smell the Amortentia and then split off into partners to make some Herbicide. Only top notch!"

Rachel was in no rush to line up. She patiently waited her turn and contemplated life as an unemployed teenager with magical abilities. If the rest of the year was going to be like the past few days, she might as well give up now.

Mary who was standing behind her gave her a little push when it was her turn to smell the love potion. Rachel walked forward, trying not to stumble or do anything terribly embarrassing, and sniffed the potion.

It smelled like the barbeque her dad made in the summer, her mother's shampoo, and… the smell of dust after rain.

Petrichor. Why petrichor?

Just as she was about to leave, she caught a whiff of something else. It was a strong, tangy smell and it burned her nose the more she stuck around the surprisingly comforting scent. She shook off the sensation and walked away as quickly as she could.

Merlin, she really needed some sleep.

* * *

**Is it just me or are these chapters getting shorter… I'm so terribly sorry if they are D: I'll make it up to you tomorrow... or midnight? :)**

**-I really am exploding with the Doctor Who references. Spot the one in this chapter?  
****-I hope Rachel and Sirius are living up to expectations.. :|  
****-Not getting bored, are we?  
****-Grammar?**

_**Amelia xx**_


	5. The Superpowers of Marlene McKinnon

**A/N: Chapter 5 everybody, it really is here! :) I hope you've been enjoying the story up until now and that I'm not being too dull. Please don't hesitate to leave some suggestions or an outright, "Amelia, you're screwing it up. ABORT MISSION."**

**Yeah, I'm weird, but it's ok :)**

* * *

Sirius watched Rachel walk away from the cauldron looking rather confused and angry. He let a small smile slip imagining whatever it was about the love potion that could have got her so fuming. A few persons later, and he was standing in front of the infamous potion. He leaned forward and smelled it.

Sirius smelled an herb garden, the smell of the grass on the Potters' Quidditch field, and… the slight scent of wild violet. Sirius didn't think he'd ever even seen a wild violet flower before in his life.

He brushed it off and went to join James in making another failure of a potion, but not before catching a smell of something else. It was a much stronger scent and seemed ever so familiar and welcoming, but he just couldn't place it.

He shook his head and walked off, thinking to himself how tired he must be.

* * *

Marlene and Dorcas were waiting outside for Lily, Alice, and Mary. The two of them both got below E on their OWLs in Potions and were particularly happy about it. They both had separate plans for their futures that fortunately (in their eyes, anyways) did not include Potions.

"Hey!" Marlene greeted. "What did you guys do today in boring Potions?"

"Amortentia," Mary replied. That mischievous glint that Rachel hated appeared in Dorcas' eyes. "Oh, and Herbicide."

"Amortentia? You don't say," Dorcas said. "And? What did you guys smell?"

"Odd things, odd things indeed," Lily muttered.

"All right, poet Evans. Don't go all philosophical on us," Rachel laughed. Lily was snapped out of her reverie.

The topic prior was dropped. Thank Merlin.

The five of them walked into the Great Hall and sat down for lunch. Rachel had just barely taken a small gulp of her warm and welcoming soup when a frowning James ran up to her and stole the bowl straight from under her nose. He took her spoon as a precaution. He sat down next to her as he pushed the food away. Lily seemed happy that it wasn't her this time.

"Well, that's rather rude treatment to your reserve Seeker," Rachel sniffed. "I'd expect better from you, Potter."

He didn't laugh or even crack a smile. The same frown was on his face as he said, "Well, maybe you'll be my only Seeker…"

"What was that?" Rachel asked, panicked.

She did not want to be Seeker. She was fine on reserve. Sure, she liked flying, but Quidditch was a whole other game. You had things and people flying at you and it was bad enough that she had to verse that prat Regulus come Saturday. She just barely understood the rules.

She just wanted a top-notch resume, for Merlin's sake.

"Nothing," James replied. "Let's go see Fletchley in the infirmary."

Rachel stood up from her spot at the table with a scowl and followed behind James. This was really the cherry on top for her day. She couldn't think of much else worse then being deprived of a long awaited lunch.

Once she caught up with James, she gave him a good whack on the shoulder and asked, "What's this all about? I'm missing my lunch for this."

"Wormtail got into some trouble and I was talking to Madame Pomfrey," James began explaining. "I decided to ask her about Fletchley and apparently the little twit only had a small sprain in his ankle. He should have been back by today."

"So?"

James turned toward Rachel sharply. "So? He's a _lazy _half-wit and he can't do his job right! Plus, he _lied_."

"I can think of two other lazy half-wits in this school that never fail to anger me and always lie," Rachel replied smartly. "I'm sorry for not understanding you, Potter. Are you trying to be serious about something?"

"Did someone say Sirius Black?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, _can I catch a break_?"

"Hey, Padfoot, why don't you come along with us?" James said. "Then you can help me give Fletchley a good whack."

"Can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be, Prongs," Sirius replied.

Those boys and their _stupid _nicknames, Merlin.

"I could probably come up with about ten other places you'd rather be," Rachel muttered resentfully as she followed after the two boys.

* * *

Once they arrived in the infirmary, James quickly stormed over to Fletchley's bed, which was surrounded by various candy wrappers. James turned even more furious, if that was possible, when he saw Fletchley lazing about and taking the situation for granted. Rachel really couldn't blame him.

"Blimey, he seems angry," muttered Sirius from where he was standing right next to her. Rachel may have felt her hear quicken a bit when she noticed how close he was and when he brushed his hand along her arm.

But not that she really noticed. Because she did decide she was _not _going down the Black Alley.

She just was not.

"… You think you can just get away with this?" she heard James say sternly to Fletchley once she'd snapped out of her reverie. "You get a small sprain and—"

"It's _not_ just a small sprain, _Potter_," Fletchley snapped. He grabbed onto his leg suddenly as his face distorted into one of pain. His groans of pain would have been believable to a mountain troll. Rachel grimaced at the pitiful boy.

"Bloody hell, he's really laying it on thick," Sirius muttered, more to himself.

"Yeah, not the expert liar," Rachel said. "May need some pointers from the Marauders."

Sirius smirked ever so slightly.

At that moment Madame Pomfrey walked in. Her face changed from content to annoyed when she saw Fletchley. She stormed over to him and ripped off his blankets. She stood over him with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face.

"And this," Rachel started, "is when the fun part comes in."

"What is the _meaning _of this?" Madame Pomfrey snapped at the Seeker. "You get a small sprain that healed long ago, yet you stay and take up all my beds. I don't think so, son! Out with you! A muggle would be up and running from that petty injury!"

Fletchley got so scared by Madame Pomfrey's sternness that he jumped out of the cot in fear. He stumbled backwards and grabbed onto a bedside table to balance himself.

"Ah, he walks," said Rachel. "And I am now liberated of my Seeker duties. All is well. Now, if you don't mind—"

"Not so fast," James said. He walked up to Fletchley so threateningly that the poor Seeker flinched. "You lied, you wasted my time trying to train someone for the game against Slytherin, and you sit around here eating your sweets like nothing bothers you? You're mad if you think I'm keeping you on the team."

"Now hold up—"

"No, no!" Fletchley exclaimed, interrupting Rachel mid-sentence. "Please, Potter, I'll do anything to make it up to you!"

Rachel stepped in. "Honestly James, I really don't want to be Seeker."

"And I don't want a lazy prat on my team," James said. "Sorry, Rachel."

Well, that was it. She was subject to James "by three hours I mean five hours" Potter for the rest of the school year.

She hoped she wouldn't kill herself first.

* * *

"This is _terrible_," Rachel whined to her friends. "I don't want to be on the team! The only other girl there is Alice, who's nice and all, but then I still have—" she leaned in closer and sighed. "—Then I still have to deal with Sirius," she hissed.

"I don't know why he's such a problem," Marlene stated. "You said yourself that you were pretending it never happened."

"Yes, but that doesn't expel the fact that he's a prat and I hate being within his prescence," Rachel stated. Which was half-true. Not like she would admit the little jumps her heart did when Sirius stood really close to her. She hadn't even admitted that to herself yet.

"Oh, you'll survive," said Dorcas. "He hasn't got dragon pox, for Merlin's sake!"

"Not that we know of, anyway," Lily muttered dramatically. Rachel turned to glare at her and Lily cracked up laughing. "Honestly, you're taking this too seriously."

Rachel only sighed and leaned against the bookshelf behind her.

Marlene, Rachel, Lily, and Dorcas were sitting down on the floor in the library in between some bookshelves. Monday afternoon was always when everyone started to get back onto their feet from the parties of the weekend and get back to work. And, every Monday, the four girls would sit on the library floor between a 'Potions and Maladies' bookshelf and a 'Herbology' bookshelf and attempt to do their newly assigned homework.

'Attempt to' being the key phrase of course.

They would always veer of topic and talk about any and all other unimportant things. Except for Lily, that is.

"Well, I can't help but say that Lily is right," Marlene said, "as always."

Rachel sent a quick glare her way, but Marlene had long ago changed the subject.

"Look!" she hissed. "It's that bloke that I was talking about!"

Rachel, Dorcas, and even Lily looked up to see Marlene's next week. He was definitely good-looking. He had a strong build, sharp features, and thick honey hair that probably made all the girls in the library want to run up to him and run their hands through his locks. Because that was Henry Macmillan and every girl in the school already wanted him.

And now there was Marlene.

This was the part Rachel really enjoyed.

"See you later, girls," Marlene muttered with a smirk.

She delicately flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder and walked over to Henry. One small bat of her eyelashes and a slow blink of her green eyes and Henry was gone. There was no saving him now.

Honestly, Marlene should have written a book or something. Marlene McKinnon's Foolproof Ways to Snag a Wizard.

Rachel sighed. If only she had Marlene's powers. Then she could grab a fit guy and put Black in her past.

However, no matter how hard she tried, he stuck around.

* * *

**Heh, this one was longer... yay me! ;) So, I know I missed a day... but next weekend I have three days off so more time to write! :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
****-Favourite line?  
****-Is this getting dull? Moving too fast? Let me know! :)**

**Amelia xx**


	6. Everybody Wants a Chocolate Cauldron

**A/N: Chapter 6! BRB… feeling accomplished. Hehe. Anyways, read on! :)**

* * *

Rachel had only one thing that she could not believe by the end of the week.

Once you were an actual part of the Quidditch team, practice made swimming in a hailstorm sound favourable.

Rachel dragged her feet into the girls' dormitory and overdramatically fell on the ground. Lily grimaced.

"I'm surprised the spell on the stairs didn't recognize you as a boy," she commented.

Rachel looked up and glared at her. "Oh, fuck off, you try being on the Quidditch team. It's a living hell. James is off his rocker."

"Why don't you just quit?" Lily asked matter-of-factly, stepping around Rachel to get something on a dresser. Rachel gave her a look of disbelief.

"Quit? Quit?" Rachel exclaimed. "I do not quit!"

"Okay, okay," said Lily defensively. "Fine, put yourself through this."

Lily exited the dorm and Rachel got up from the floor with a sigh. There was no denying that Lily was right, but Rachel never really quit anything in her whole entire life. With a shake of her head, she decided to settle all of this when she got back from Christmas break. She was going back home in a week anyway.

* * *

Lily and Rachel entered an empty compartment and got comfortable. They sat across from each other and smiled. Already they were leaving for Christmas break. It seemed like sixth year had started only yesterday, though.

Mary and Dorcas entered the compartment after, Dorcas pointedly sitting down next to Rachel who only closed her eyes and pretended to be tired. Which wasn't much of a feat considering she was always tired. Mary took a seat next to Lily.

"Don't you have prefect duties, Lily?" Mary asked.

Lily shook her head with a smile. "Remus offered to complete all the duties so I've got the whole train ride just for my girls."

"Speaking of," Rachel started, "where're Alice and Marlene?"

"Alice is with Frank, obviously," Dorcas replied, "and Marlene is with Henry."

"Still?" Rachel asked, genuinely shocked. "This is one of the longest relationships she's had."

"Yes, well, she has had her eye on him for awhile," Lily commented.

"Just like _I _have my eye on _you_."

Rachel groaned. Not this again. "Honestly James," Rachel started. "Leave before I smack you or Lily starts raging. Don't you torture me enough in practice, anyways?"

Lily had only rolled her eyes and stuck her nose back in her book, taking to ignoring James. More rational than usual.

Dorcas smirked. Merlin knew what was going on in her head. She'd been more secretive and deceiving since sixth year had begun, in Rachel's opinion anyway.

Mary seemed disinterested. Possibly the smartest person on the train.

"Oi! Prongs! Where're you?"

Rachel's blood began boiling just at the sound of his voice.

"Ah, that would be my fellow superior calling," James said. Sirius came into view right behind James and his eyes landed on Rachel a little too quickly for her liking. The smirk on his face wasn't to her liking either.

Nothing related to him was really to her liking.

"Hello there, Fredricks," Sirius greeted. "Snog any good-looking chaps lately?"

"Why?" Rachel asked. "Are you finally admitting your sexuality and need somewhere to start?"

He only smirked and laughed.

Why did he never get insulted by anything Rachel said? He always just smirked and laughed. It infuriated her.

"Wow, I had no idea Rachel was so funny," Dorcas said. "Or maybe you're the only one amused by her."

Rachel was quick to glare at her friend. _She'll have to stop at one point_, Rachel thought. _Right?_

"Anyways," James began, "I was just looking for Moony. Happen to know where he is?"

"He's doing prefect duties," Mary piped in quietly.

"Er, thanks."

The two of them walked off. _Quite awkwardly, might I add_, Rachel thought with amusement.

* * *

Rachel got off the train, her trunk trailing behind her with her barn owl, Barney (she was eleven when she named it and not very creative), obediently perched on the large case. Rachel walked quickly, trying to see over people's heads, despite her short stature. Finally, she saw her dad and she immediately ran up to him.

She crashed into him and hugged him tightly. Her father hugged her back warmly. She looked up and smiled at him. He had dark circles under his eyes from all the graveyard shifts he worked. He was a muggle-born and he was a healer for some time, but he switched to being a muggle doctor the moment he had met Rachel's mother.

But it pained the both of them to even think about that.

"Hello, Rach," he greeted her warmly. "How were the first few months of school?"

"Quite… interesting," she replied.

Her father didn't question it farther. He only smiled and the two of them walked out of King's Cross and to her father's parked car.

* * *

Sirius watched as Rachel warmly hugged an older man who he guessed was her father. All he could tell was that she seemed awfully close to him.

He felt someone harshly bump past him and his face turned into a scowl when he saw it was his younger brother, Regulus.

"Come on, blood traitor," Regulus said to him. "I have to share a home with you for two weeks."

"Who knows, maybe you'll die first," Sirius muttered resentfully as he trudged after his younger brother.

* * *

"Is this the real life?" Rachel sang, "Or is this just fantasy!"

Lily turned to glare at her. "It's just a chocolate cauldron, for the love of Merlin!"

"Excuse me," Rachel said. "These are firewhiskey treats. _No one_ at Honeyduke's even lets me touch these! And I've got to wait until _August_ until they'll let me _taste_ them. So I'm rather happy."

"I don't get what's so amazing about them that you have to start singing Bohemian Rhapsody," Lily muttered.

"They're like the wizarding world equivalent of rum balls," Mary said as she happily took a bite out of one. "Except with more alcohol. How'd you get these anyway, Rachel?"

"Peeves, of course," Rachel replied. "And Creevey. Cost quite a bit of galleons though, so I wouldn't eat it all now."

"Are those _chocolate cauldrons_?"

The six girls in the compartment turned to see Peter and the rest of the Marauders standing there.

Rachel widened her eyes and threw the treat in her bag. "Uh, no."

"Merlin, what's the big deal about these things anyway?" Lily suddenly exclaimed.

"What's the big deal?" James asked. "What's the _big deal_?"

"Evans, these aren't just any treats," Sirius said.

"They're alcoholic treats," Rachel said. "_Heavily_ alcoholic treats."

"You're a drunk," Lily stated matter-of-factly.

"No, I have further developed taste buds than you do," Rachel replied. "I understand why you would be jealous. You have five year-old taste buds."

"Speaking of five year-olds," Marlene started. She turned to the Marauders. "State your business."

"We're here to steal your chocolate cauldrons," Peter said.

"Well, that's if you don't kindly give them to us," James added.

"What chocolate cauldrons?" Rachel asked, feigning cluelessness. "I don't have any chocolate cauldrons. Do you, Dorcas?"

Dorcas shook her head. "No, not me. Mary?"

Mary smirked and shook her head as she opened a chocolate frog.

"All right, be that way," Sirius said. "But we'll get them eventually."

Rachel scoffed. "What are you going to do?" Rachel asked smugly. "Look through my underwear drawer?"

Sirius smirked. God, she hated that smirk. "If that's what it takes, I definitely wouldn't mind."

Rachel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "It's nice to see nothing changed, Black," she said. "Still arrogant as ever."

"I could say the same to you," he replied.

Rachel narrowed her eyes but quickly decided to move on and ignore his comment. She turned her head and looked outside the window.

Suddenly, she was being lifted into the air.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?" she exclaimed, somewhat screaming. She was slung over someone's shoulder and she soon realized it was Black when she saw the longish dark hair. She burned with anger.

"_Black, you put me down right this instant_!"

"But it's more fun this way, love," he replied.

She screamed angrily and hit his back with her fist repeatedly. All the other activity in the compartment was James holding Lily back from going to save Rachel, Mary taking her time hiding the remaining chocolate cauldrons, Alice trying to stay out of the line of fire, and Dorcas... Dorcas had the fucking brightest smile Rachel had ever seen.

It infuriated her further and so she hit Black again.

"Honestly love, that doesn't do anything," he said. "Bloody hell, where'd you hide them?"

"I swear on _nargles and firewhiskey_ that if you don't put me down this instant, I'm going to fucking _kill you in your sleep_!"

"Quite rude, but I can deal," he replied.

She hit his back once more.

And the whole compartment was filled with screams and flying candies and candy wrappers.

Suddenly, the door flew open.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Frank exclaimed.

Sirius set Rachel down and said, "Just a bit of fun." Rachel smacked him as hard as she could.

"They were trying to steal our food," Marlene intervened.

"They had chocolate cauldrons!" Peter exclaimed suddenly.

"You _rat_!" Rachel shouted.

Frank sighed and rolled his eyes. "We're not even at school and your forcing me to take points," he said. "Five points from Gryffindor... Unfortunately."

He left the compartment, not wanting to see anymore.

Rachel turned to Sirius. "You can leave now," she said harshly.

He smirked again. "Not over yet, Fredricks."

And with that, the four Marauders left the compartment.

Rachel sat down angrily and crossed her arms, fuming. "The _nerve_!"

"That was quite amusing, to be honest," Dorcas said. When she saw Rachel's glare, she added, "Or not…"

* * *

**Now I understand it's technically Friday (for me), but I was trying to get a head-start on the next chapter so apologies :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Hehe... who got my rat pun?  
-Was the fight a little too far-fetched?**

**Amelia :) xx**


	7. Trouble in the Dungeons

**A/N: Hai. I'm back. It's been busy today, so I'm feeling pretty productive right now :) Enjoy!**

* * *

The moment Rachel walked into the common room, she immediately fell onto a large couch. "I am _so_ tired," she groaned.

"But you have to come to dinner," Lily said.

"No, no I don't," replied Rachel as she curled up into a ball on the soft couch and pulled a fluffy blanket over her.

"But… it's dinner! There's food!" Lily exclaimed, in attempt to make her friend come downstairs to dinner with her.

"I have my own stash," Rachel replied. "Now leave me to sleep."

"Just leave her," Dorcas said. "She's tired and drunk."

"Anything new?" Marlene asked jokingly, but Rachel's eyes were already closed and she had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey," she heard a voice mutter. Rachel felt her shoulder being softly shaken. She grumbled and moved her shoulder.

"Oh, come on," the person whispered. Rachel didn't reply. She had to go back to sleep. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, Fredricks!"

Rachel's eyes snapped open and the first thing she saw was a pair of grey eyes dangerously close to her. She got so scared that she yelped and rolled off the couch. Her back hit the floor painfully. How many more times was she going to fall like that in the whole year?

"Bloody hell!" she shouted. She opened her eyes to see who her assailant was.

_Black._ Fuck life.

"What the hell!" she shouted. "I was _sleeping_!"

"Yes, you were sleeping," Sirius remarked. "And I woke you up, because you were sleeping on _my_ couch."

"_Your_ couch?" Rachel demanded. She scoffed. "Fuck off."

"Stingy, always stingy," Sirius said. "You usually come off as a nice person."

"You _never_ come off as a nice person," Rachel commented. "Especially when you wake me from my slumber."

"Didn't mean to stir the dragon," Sirius smirked.

Rachel rolled her eyes. How long could she last?

She suddenly noticed that she was still sitting on the floor, Sirius being troublingly close to her. She tried not to jump; he would sense her discomfort, and he loved that.

As calmly as she could, Rachel stood up confidently and put her hands on her hips. Sirius got up as well and he ended up standing so close to her that she could smell the cigarette smoke on his breath.

She _loathed_ smokers. That alone was enough for her to gain back her common sense and not be bothered by his presence.

No matter how closely he stood to her.

Really, she could ignore his fairly perfect features. She could.

She raised her chin confidently, turned around, and walked away. Maybe she'd be able to get some sleep in her own bed.

* * *

"Up!" Marlene exclaimed, forcefully pulling away the curtains to Rachel's four-poster bed. "Come on! Don't be a lazy-bum!"

Rachel groaned and rolled over so she was facing away from Marlene and the terrible light. She hated whoever came up with the idea of early classes.

"Oh, don't be like that," Marlene ordered. "Come on! Up and at 'em!"

Rachel rolled hey eyes and swung her legs over her bed so she was sitting upright and facing Marlene.

"Why do you always insist on brutally waking me up?" Rachel asked tiredly. "You are the only friend that pulls aside my curtains, yells at me to get up, and forces me out of bed in the morning. Why?"

"Because you're my friend and I look after you," Marlene said. "Obviously."

With that, she walked off, leaving Rachel to sit there and mull over what her friend had told her. After five minutes, she came to a conclusion.

She really didn't deserve her friends.

* * *

"What is the main ingredient in… Ms. Fredricks?"

Rachel jumped in her chair and woke from her sleep. Slughorn was looking at her pointedly. Rachel felt her face heat up and heard the Slytherins from across the room snickering at her.

"Awake now?" he asked.

Rachel nodded meekly and quietly replied, "Yes sir."

Slughorn continued on with the class and then instructed them to make a simple Wideye potion, muttering pointedly to Rachel that 'some might need it'.

Nevertheless, Rachel quickly paired off with Lily, and Mary with Alice and they all began working on their potions. Rachel hoped that Lily would do the hard part, meaning the whole potion, because Rachel could really muck it up.

As Rachel began crushing some lavender, as Lily had instructed, and Lily threw in ingredients at an unbelievable speed, Rachel's eyes wandered around the classroom. Not too far away, she spotter James and Sirius tossing in any ingredients they could find, just for the fun of it.

Lily quickly reached over and stopped Rachel from squishing the lavender anymore. She had a panicked look in her eyes as she said, "One extra squish and the potion could go terribly wrong."

"Okay," Rachel said with a small smile. "Calm down. The world isn't blowing up."

Lily rolled her eyes and took the mortar form Rachel to pour the contents in the cauldron. But right before she could dump the squished lavender, something flew in front of her face and fell in the cauldron with a small splash. Rachel and Lily quickly leaned forward to see a bezoar surfacing. Rachel looked up and around the room and her eyes landed on the likeliest of idiots.

Potter and Black. Of course they would've done that.

But before Rachel could storm over to them and give them a stern talking to, the potion began to bubble violently and then it just exploded, spreading potion goo all over the place, but mostly on Lily and Rachel.

"What the devil is going on here?" Slughorn exclaimed, approaching Lily and Rachel's table.

That was when James and Sirius broke out in unrestrained laughter.

Slughorn calmly turned to them and said, "Detention for the two of you and," he turned to Rachel and Lily, "the two of you. Tonight."

"But—but professor!" Lily exclaimed.

"Can we at least make up for the mark?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"All four of you can come in and retry the potion for marks, on your own time," Slughorn said. "Until then, you all have zeros."

Rachel was mostly scared that Lily was going to faint, so she gently put her hand on her shoulder and helped her sit down. Lily sat motionless and in a state of shock for the rest of the period.

Rachel, however, was in a large bout of anger. This would not do. And it was not their faults.

She was quickly planning revenge.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Lily grumbled for the umpteenth time as her and Rachel walked to their detention, or their doom as it was more suitably called.

"We're just cleaning a few cauldrons," Rachel said, trying to calm her friend. "We can catch up this weekend. I'll do all the work even and you won't have to worry about a thing."

"But _detention_?" Lily hissed. "I don't get detention!"

"There's a first time for everything," Rachel reminded.

Lily shook her head and crossed her arms as they stopped in front of the dungeons. Rachel urged Lily forward and the two of them walked in.

Surprisingly enough, James and Sirius were already there. Professor Slughorn was patiently waiting for the two girls and when they arrived, he stuck out his hand and said, "Wands please. I don't want any escapees."

Lily and Rachel hesitantly gave their wands to Slughorn. "All right then!" he said, quite happily. "Just clean the cauldrons on the desk and the floors. Good evening, students!"

And with that, he walked off, leaving the four Gryffindors in the room.

Rachel shot Sirius a resentful glare before storming off to start cleaning cauldrons. Lily just walked to where Rachel was and started helping her friend out and stay unremarkably quiet. The other two, well… they somewhat cleaned the cauldrons.

A lot of the time, they were throwing sponges at each other and stupidly daring each other to lick the cauldrons.

It was very expected, in Rachel's opinion.

At one point throughout the detention, when Lily had gone to get more cleaning supplies for the floors and James was stealing from the potions cupboards, Rachel felt someone looming behind her. She turned her head to see none other but Sirius Black standing there. Really, she shouldn't have been surprised. So she rolled her eyes and went back to cleaning.

"Is there really nothing you want to say to me?" Sirius whispered to her. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her skin, only heating up her face more.

Rachel turned and stepped away from Sirius until she hit the table behind her and couldn't move any further. She was still close enough for her to notice all the things she noticed that morning after the Hogsmeade trip. In detail.

"Yeah, I do have something to ask you actually," Rachel started. "How's Gertrude?"

"She's fine, thanks for asking," Sirius replied with a smirk.

"Oh that's good. And have you decided on a family home?" Rachel asked mockingly.

"Somewhere on the seaside," Sirius replied, just as sarcastically. "Ireland, maybe."

Despite her efforts to hate him, she felt a small smile slip as she said, "And she probably wants, oh, a dozen kids?"

"At least," Sirius replied. By now, he was smiling. Not smirking, but actually _smiling_. It was something Rachel hadn't seen before and thought it suited him well.

But not well enough to make him attractive, oh no.

Rachel was just about to shoot another reply when all the light in the room, from the candles to the chandeliers, was mysteriously blown out. The immediate darkness was enough to make Rachel jump and stumble into someone else, who could only be Sirius.

He caught her before she could fall to the dungeon floor, but didn't let go of her. Sirius kept his arms securely around Rachel, as if he was scared he'd lose her in the darkness. Rachel softly patted his hands and pushed away his arm as she blindly searched the table for any defensive tool.

And that was when she felt her throat being restricted and her limbs started flailing.

She had no air, no wand, and no weapon. She was as defenceless as a drowning muggle.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER. Don't worry, next update is coming soon :)**

**-What do you think happened?  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-In case you haven't noticed, Sirchel is moving along... when do you think the next Sirchel moment will be?**

**Thanks for reading! xx**


	8. Again with the Dungeons!

**A/N: Yes, I know it was a long wait for a cliffhanger. I hope this chapter is worthy enough of your forgiveness, though :)**

* * *

Rachel tried desperately to hit her assailant, waving her arms around like a maniac. His, she had decided that her assailant was a he by his tall stature, grip only tightened and Rachel struggled for air. She tried pulling at his arm and desperately tried to scream out, hoping someone would hear her.

She heard Lily's familiar voice as she shouted, "Rachel? Where are you?" her voice carried over the room and echoed. Rachel tried so hard to respond, but nothing came out. "Potter, Black, if you think this is a funny joke _you are mistaken_!" Lily yelled.

"Lily?" she heard James call. "What the bloody hell happened?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking you, you prat!" Lily shouted back. She heard footsteps.

"Oh, shut your mouth for once," Sirius shouted.

He was so close to her, Rachel could tell. She tried to reach out to get his attention; she only needed to get a small tap on his arm. She stretched her arm out as far as she could, her air supply slowly running out. She felt her head get heavier and the black room turning even blacker.

And right before Rachel could pass out, there was a bright blaze and all the lights in the room were restored.

Rachel felt the grip on her loosen and she broke away as quickly as she could. She stumbled forward and crashed into somebody else, who caught her right before she could fall. It was Sirius, of course.

In that moment, she was a bit thankful rather than resentful.

Rachel looked up to see her assailant. Immediately, she saw red.

"Malfoy!" she screeched. Before she could run and give him the beating of his life, Sirius held her back.

"Mr. Malfoy," she heard Slughorn's voice say sternly. "What is the meaning of this?" he turned to look at Lily and James. Behind them, Nott was standing there looking quite disappointed. "And you, Nott? I demand an explanation!"

"I'll gladly give it to you, Professor," Rachel cut in; her anger was quickly reviving her from the incident. "We were just serving our detention when the lights were blown out and I was attacked. Strangled, to be specific. By Malfoy."

"She's lying!" Malfoy quickly shouted. "It was Nott!"

"He's on the other side of the room, you arrogant toerag!" Rachel shouted at him.

"Ms. Fredricks, language," Slughorn warned. "As for the two of you, harsh punishment should be expected. As for now, fifteen points from Slytherin. Each. Your parents will be informed."

"Good, they'll be proud!" Malfoy shouted. "The mudblood deserved it! I'm only sorry we didn't get her filthy friend and the two blood traitors!"

Rachel quickly looked over at Lily who, besides her best effort, looked downtrodden, as if someone had thrown her into a muddy ditch. Rachel could tell she was trying not to cry and not to care, but Rachel also knew Lily. She was too kind to not let the insult get to her.

Before Rachel turned away, she saw James cautiously put his hand on Lily's shoulder. She didn't move away. Rachel let a small smile slip.

Until she noticed her situation.

She quickly stepped away from Sirius. Slughorn handed back her wand and she walked off as quickly as she could.

* * *

"Oh, Dorcas," Rachel whined, her face muffled by her bed sheets. "What do I _do_?"

"Well, first of all, I'm surprised you came to me," Dorcas said. "Second of all, snog him, for Merlin's sake!"

"I only came to you because Marlene was busy," Rachel replied after a long pause and a glare. "And I'm _not_ snogging Sirius."

"Ah, but you want to," Dorcas replied, "and that's your real problem."

Rachel groaned and buried her face in her pillow. "Don't mention it ever again."

"_Does_ he snog better than firewhiskey?" Dorcas asked, not backing off of the subject.

"No," Rachel replied with a defiant glare.

"Stop trying to convince yourself," Dorcas replied smartly.

Rachel looked up at her friend and sighed. "Am I actually falling for Sirius Black?" Rachel asked resentfully.

Dorcas shrugged. "Maybe. But would that be such a bad thing?"

Suddenly, the door burst open and Marlene, Lily, Mary, and Alice walked in. It was a girls' night; Rachel had almost forgotten. So, she tried to put her conversation with Dorcas out of her mind as she brought out the sweets and alcohol stash and Lily set up a record player.

But Dorcas' reply kept nagging at her. _Would_ falling for Sirius Black be such a bad thing?

* * *

Rachel sat with her legs crossed on a large table in the dungeons. A large pewter cauldron was sitting in front of her, small wisps of smoke rising out of it. Rachel gently stirred the potion two more times before leaving it to brew.

She heard the door creak open and quickly turned her head to see none other but Sirius Black entering.

It had been a week since the incident. Finally, Rachel managed to find time to finish her potion. On a Friday, nonetheless.

"Hey there," he greeted somewhat quietly. His attitude had been altogether softer the past week. It sort of scared Rachel.

"Hi," Rachel greeted cautiously. After a pause, she added, "Don't come near my potion. We wouldn't want it ending like last time."

Sirius smirked. "_You_ wouldn't… but maybe I would."

Rachel rolled her eyes and turned around so she was facing Sirius and her legs were swung over the table, swinging back and forth mindlessly. "Why are you here?" she finally asked.

"I heard you were here," he replied.

"And…?" Rachel coaxed.

"Wanted to see how you were," Sirius replied.

"Fine," Rachel replied quickly. Her reply was jagged and she came off as confused and slightly offended.

Sirius didn't seem phased. "That's good," he said. After a long, silent pause, Sirius added with a smirk, "Better than firewhiskey?"

Rachel looked up at him with wide eyes. "What?" she asked sharply.

"Irene. That's what she said, right?" Sirius clarified.

Rachel calmed down as a plan formed in her head. "Yes, she said that," Rachel started, "but it's absolute rubbish. You don't snog better than firewhiskey."

That was the first time that Rachel had seen Sirius be phased by anything she said to him.

"Not anything too special, to be honest," Rachel lied. "It was quite the ordinary snog. Could get better from a Hufflepuff."

Sirius looked as if he was in a state of shock. Suddenly, he seemed to recover and quickly walked over to her. He came up to her so that he was right in front of her, their faces only inches apart. Rachel backed up instinctively and out of shock. Sirius leaned on his hands that were on the table on either side of her.

Rachel wasn't sure if this was completely unplanned or secretly her incentive the entire time, but she found herself enjoying it.

"So you don't think I snog to well, do you?" Sirius asked, his voice a hoarse whisper that Rachel found herself attracted to.

"No," she replied, but only after a long pause and the reply came out as more of a sigh as they only got closer.

And when he was close enough, Rachel smelled it. The familiar, fresh scent of rain and dust. Instead of scaring her, she only felt herself being pulled closer to Sirius and forgetting about every little thing that he did to bother her.

He was so dangerously close; Rachel could almost feel that kiss in Hogsmeade. It almost felt as if it was still snowing and she was still drunk. She almost felt the same delirium and ecstasy.

She was so close. She hadn't jumped or stayed rigid, but gotten closer and relaxed. It surprised Sirius. It surprised him that her eyelids were slowly dropping as her copper eyes clouded over with lust. It surprised him that she kept leaning forward until their lips were almost gently brushing. Sirius wasn't touching Rachel. His hands were remaining right beside her, unmoving. Rachel fought the urge to grab his face and just kiss him already.

And this was absolute teasing, on both their sides.

It was then that Sirius smelt a welcoming scent. It was ever so soft, but incredibly noticeable as he breathed in the familiar tanginess of firewhiskey.

And that was enough for him.

Until the door flew open and the two jumped apart.

"Padfoot!" James exclaimed. "I _told_ you to meet us in the Great Hall for dinner! We can't make any plans without you!"

If Sirius didn't look murderous, then Voldemort was a fluffy teddy bear.

Rachel was flushed red out of embarrassement as she turned back to her potion and began working on it.

Sirius walked out of the room quickly and James followed.

Once the door closed behind them, James said, "Mate, you never—"

Sirius whacked him over the arm. "Bloody hell! Out of all the moments in the world, you chose that one to ruin!"

"Well, sorry mate, but…" James trailed off as he realized what happened. "Shit, that was Rachel."

Sirius sighed. "It doesn't matter. Let's go steal some firewhiskey from the Three Broomsticks."

And so the two walked off, not mentioning the subject again.

* * *

**A/N: One person said they regretted being Team James last chapter... I think you regret it more now. Sorry :/**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Yes, the ship is finally moving along now... this is still sixth year, mind you.  
-Excited for chapter 9 (I honestly hope it isn't as boring as I think it is)?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	9. Close One But Not Quite

**A/N: Hi. Chapter 9. Weeee. By the way, you guys should watch Legend of Korra. Okay, bye. And ****I have done so much school writing today this isn't even funny. So if I sound like a politician, I greatly apologize.**

* * *

"I can't believe that just happened!" Rachel yelled. Her voice was muffled by the pillow on the couch in the common room.

Marlene sighed and sat beside Rachel. She patted her friend's shoulder and Rachel sat up slowly. She ended up burying her face in Marlene's shoulder.

"What if James saw that," Rachel muttered. "That would be so embarrassing, oh Merlin."

Marlene sighed once more. "All right Rachie Boo, let me tell you something," Marlene began. Rachel looked up at her skeptically but allowed her to continue. "Sirius Black likes to play with girls and their emotions, it's just who he is. It's all good fun for him and most girls are trampy and stupid enough to fall for it and be okay with it. It's sad that I did."

"But that's the thing Marlene!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed. "I know that it's all just a bit of fun for him and he doesn't really care. And that's why I don't want to fall for him. He's not _right_, Marlene. This is going to ruin me. Because I _am_ falling. I'm going to fall hard, Marlene."

"Let me finish, you twat," Marlene snapped. "Do you know what else Sirius Black does? He let's the girls pine for him, beg for him, _dream_ of him, for Merlin's sake! And then he simply gives them a good shag or something and moves on to the next in line. You never wanted him to begin with, _he_ wanted _you_."

"Wow, I feel so special," Rachel replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"Twistedly enough, you should," Marlene responded. "Sirius doesn't know the definition of caring for someone and having feelings for someone. But he managed to have feelings for you. If anyone's going to get hurt, it'll be him."

"I don't understand," Rachel said with a frown.

"Rachel, you've got the upper hand!" Marlene exclaimed happily. "Falling for him was just a bonus!"

Slowly, Rachel understood what Marlene was saying.

And she quickly came to a conclusion as she buried her face into her arms and replied, "I still don't know if I can trust him."

"Talk to James," Marlene said matter-of-factly while opening her schoolbooks.

Rachel's head sprang up and she sharply replied, "What?"

"They're like brothers," Marlene replied. "Sirius would tell James anything."

"Why had I not thought of this before?" Rachel exclaimed, standing up.

"Because you're not Magnificent Marlene," replied Marlene.

But Rachel had already run off.

* * *

"Hey there, James," Rachel greeted, falling into step wit her qudditch captain. "How's life treating you?"

"Good…" James replied cautiously. "Coming down to practice?"

"Practice?" Rachel asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, practice," James replied. "Did you forget?"

"No!" Rachel answered quickly. "Of course not."

Rachel quickly took out her wand and held it behind her back, thinking a quick _accio broom_. After a moment, she felt her broom fly into her hands. James didn't notice anything.

_Success_.

"Good," he replied. "Wouldn't want my seeker forgetting practice."

"No, no!" Rachel supported. "So. Been told any juicy secrets lately?"

James turned to Rachel, confused. "Uh, I don't think so," he replied. Then, he smirked. "Unless you have something you want to tell me. Dating anyone, Fredricks?"

"Why's it any of your business?" Rachel snapped.

"I'm your captain," James started, "and I would like to know when two of my players are fraternizing in the dungeons."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rachel replied simply.

"So you haven't got the hots for Sirius?" James asked skeptically.

"Nope," Rachel shook her head.

"Well, he likes you," he replied matter-of-factly.

"And that's all I needed to know!" Rachel exclaimed triumphantly, leaving James standing in the halls and rather confused.

* * *

Rachel skipped happily into the girls' dormitory after quidditch practice.

"Do we need to get a Healer?" Lily asked worriedly.

"Nope. I'm fine," Rachel replied with a smile.

"Oh, she's definitely feeling okay," Marlene added.

Lily looked between the two of them and said, "Seriously, what are you hiding?"

Marlene smirked and looked at Rachel for permission to divulge the details. Rachel shrugged and sat on her bed. Marlene gladly told Lily everything. _Everything_.

"Okay!" Rachel quickly stopped Marlene after awhile. "I think she gets the point."

Lily slowly nodded. "Um, yeah. Okay. So, what I think is, you should go snog him."

"Still don't trust him," Rachel sighed.

"_What_?" Marlene exclaimed. "Are you_ kidding_ me?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. This is Sirius Black we're talking about."

"For once, Rachel, you said something smart," Lily praised.

"_What_?" Marlene repeated.

"Yeah," Rachel sighed. "Only time will tell."

* * *

Rachel was still enjoying the confines of her bed when she felt something brutally land on her face and claw away at her flesh.

"_Bloody hell_!" she screamed. Rachel rolled out of her bed and fell on the ground, her back breaking her fall for the millionth time since that bloody kiss in Hogsmeade.

The culprit, a small tabby kitten, gracefully jumped out of Rachel's hair, hissed at her, and walked away towards her master.

_Dorcas_.

"You can't just order your cat to attack people in their sleep!" Rachel shouted at her friend. "It's wrong, immoral, and highly bothersome!"

"I thought you were dead," Dorcas shrugged as she sat on her bed.

"And it's Saturday!" Rachel whined, lying down on the ground and attempting to go back to sleep.

"Yeah, but you're awake now," Dorcas said. "so get dressed and let's get down to breakfast."

Rachel sighed and got up hesitantly. Dorcas cat hissed at her and Rachel made a face at it.

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "You're so immature."

"I hate cats and cats hate me," Rachel confirmed. She sent a glare to Dorcas' cat. "Quite evidently."

And with that, Rachel entered the bathroom and washed and changed for breakfast. She walked out and walked down to the Great Hall with Dorcas, where they met up with Lily, Marlene, Alice, and Mary for breakfast.

"What's up, buttercup?" Lily greeted.

"Not much, breakfast bunch," Rachel greeted as she sat down next to her redheaded friend.

They ignored the strange looks they were given and divulged into their scrambled eggs and bacon.

* * *

Rachel exited the library late one Tuesday night in April. It was the peak of schoolwork at this point and Rachel was just barely striving, but she was making it through… somehow.

She walked through the dark and empty halls with a disillusionment charm cast on her so she wouldn't get caught after curfew. Her footsteps left soft echoes bouncing off the walls as she rushed to the dormitory.

She was a few meters away from a corner when she heard footsteps. Some whispers. Some shadows. And then it was quiet.

And then someone was approaching the corner.

Rachel's heart raced as she thought up the worst scenarios possible. She would get caught and her reputation would be tarnished. She would be attacked again, just like in the dungeons, if not worse. She would be pranked. Her books would get stolen.

Her surprise was unyielding when she saw that the person that turned the corner was Sirius. He obviously couldn't see her because of the disillusionment charm.

However, some part of her willed her to grab her wand and quietly and shakily mutter the counter-spell to reveal herself.

As if a small part of her was beginning to trust him. Just a little bit.

His eyes immediately shifted to her when the charm had disappeared. Instead of looking surprised, annoyed, or astonished, he looked… a little bit happier. Brighter. As if his night had just been made.

He looked back down the corridor he came from and then quietly but quickly walked over to Rachel.

"Nice evening for a stroll," she muttered timidly once he had stopped right in front of her. So close that she could once more see his haunting, hypnotizing grey eyes.

And close enough for her to realize that, this time, she did not smell one bit of cigarette smoke.

"It is quite nice," Sirius replied. "Supposed to be a full moon."

Rachel smiled slowly. "And what would the Marauders be doing on a full moon?"

Sirius didn't smile. Rachel really didn't know what the Marauders did on a full moon and he didn't want to scare her.

Instead, he leaned in a little closer and whispered, "I didn't get to do something last time."

"Last time was quite long ago," Rachel observed rather bitterly.

She leaned in nonetheless.

He was so dangerously close again. It sent her back to the dungeons, back to Hogsmeade. Her eyes fluttered close and once more, she could almost taste the firewhiskey on his lips and smell the rain that would forever be a scent stuck in his hair.

"Padfoot!" the familiar voice of Peter hissed through the silent halls. "Where are you? We can't wait any longer!"

Sirius sprang back and sighed resentfully. He gave Rachel an apologetic look before running off.

And, once again, she was left on her own feeling embarrassed. Because he left her again.

That one ounce of trust she may have had was surely gone now.

* * *

**I'm sorry. This was somewhat of a filler chapter and not very exciting. But good news... CHAPTER 10 IS BETTER. I think.**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Siriusly... go watch Legend of Korra.  
-Favourite line?  
-Up until now, what was your favourite part in the story?**

**As my friend says: watch. read. love. ship. ;)**


	10. A Spy at the Lake

**A/N: Sorry for the day-late update :| It's fairly hectic with school so the next update won't be this weekend, but next Friday (that would be June 1). Sorry, guys! :(**

* * *

Rachel sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall the next day, early in the morning.

The earliest she'd ever woken up, actually.

Her left hand was supporting her head and her right hand was holding a fork that was pointlessly pushing her eggs around her plate. She sighed and dropped her fork on her plate. She wasn't going to eat anyway.

The real reason she was so down about everything was that Rachel had been proven right once more. Not once in her life had she seen any proof that love was useful and that it lasted and made people happy. She let herself slip for the smallest moment, and she only got hurt. She should've known better, especially with her parents. Love couldn't withstand everything.

And, of course, one would say there was Alice and Frank, but they were slowly falling apart as well. Frank was going off into the real world after the school year and while they were both adults, they were still young and didn't know what to do. And quite evidently, they were letting the rumors and opinions of others influence them.

Marlene sat across from Rachel and shot her a smile, "This is odd behavior from you. Up before the rest of us."

Rachel sighed and let her head fall on the wooden table with a loud thud. "I don't know what to do anymore, Marls."

"Are we really still at this issue?" Marlene asked exasperatedly.

"Yeah. Sorry," Rachel replied sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and attempted to eat her breakfast.

* * *

"_Study_," Lily said pointedly to Rachel, narrowing her eyes at her.

Rachel narrowed her eyes back as she replied, "No."

Lily rolled her eyes and went back to her reading.

"Honestly, all you have to do is read," Remus said.

The three of them had decided to coop up in the library, seeing as they all had friends that _didn't_ want to study.

"But I _hate_ Transfiguration," Rachel whined.

"It's easy, Rachel," Remus replied. "It's just on Animagi."

"Animagi are not easy," Rachel said. She pointed at Remus. "Do you know how long the minimum time is to correctly master an animagi?"

"Two years."

"That's—" Rachel paused and let her hand fall. "That's right."

"Yeah, well, you'd be surprised how much the Marauders know about animagi," Remus replied.

"You mean yourself?" Lily asked

"No, I mean all four of us," Remus replied. "We all got O's"

"_What_?" Lily and Rachel exclaimed simultaneously.

Madame Pince hissed at them to be quiet and Remus shrugged and went back to his work.

* * *

Rachel sat on the grass right by the Black Lake. She had just taken her last exam for the school year: Potions. Sirius was in that class and when the test had ended, Rachel could tell he was heading for her. She made a beeline for the door and got lost in the streaming crowd of students.

She had been sitting in front of the lake for three hours.

Because while she did feel that she did well academically, the school year still felt like a failure. She may have been the one girl in the school that didn't care for Sirius Black, but that obviously went down the toilet. And it wasn't like she ended up winning from that anyways.

It had been a waste of energy and stress, in her opinion.

She closed her eyes and attempted to relax. She'd be home in a week, smelling barbeque everyday, going to the beach, and maybe even getting closer to the blond Irish boy that had moved next door during Christmas break.

She was almost entirely relaxed when she sensed someone sit next to her.

Her eyes snapped open and she sighed when she saw Sirius. She quickly turned her gaze away from him and stared blankly out at the still waters of the lake.

"I think we should talk," Sirius said quietly.

"Why?" Rachel snapped. She took a deep breath. "Sorry."

Sirius didn't reply.

"What's there to talk about?" Rachel asked, after a long pause.

"What do you want to talk about?" Sirius asked, leaning back on his hands.

Rachel turned to him with a frown. "So you don't want to talk about—" she stopped. She wouldn't bring it up if he wouldn't. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"I don't know," Sirius replied.

"Well, I don't know why you're sitting here talking to me," Rachel replied bitterly.

"Fine, tell me about your family."

Rachel's head snapped towards Sirius in surprise. She quickly recovered as she replied smartly, "Tell me about yours."

He gave her a small smile as he said, "Everyone knows about my family."

Rachel faced the lake again. "Touché," she admitted. "Fine. Well, I only have my dad with me. My mom left. She didn't die. Just… left."

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"She was a muggle and when I was six years old, I did a bit of uncontrolled magic and dumped a fish tank," Rachel said. "She was more freaked out about the magic part. So freaked out that she left, I guess."

"But… your dad has a job in the wizarding world, right?" Sirius asked. "Wouldn't she have noticed something from that?"

"Nope, my dad has a muggle job," Rachel replied. "He was a healer, but he knew my mom would get scared by magic, so he became a muggle doctor. What a waste. After she left, he wasn't himself for at least a year. I was on my own."

"That's stupid, your mom leaving because of that," Sirius muttered after a long pause.

"Sometimes I think it affected my dad more than it did me," Rachel replied.

"So you're a half-blood," Sirius concluded.

Rachel turned to him with a small smile and shook her head.

"What? How come?"

Rachel sighed and shrugged. "My dad was a muggle-born. I don't really know what that makes me."

Sirius seemed to think about that for a while before replying, "Neither do I."

Rachel laughed lightly. Sirius looked at her oddly and asked, "What?"

"I can't believe we're socializing like normal people," Rachel laughed.

"I can be normal," Sirius stated defensively. Rachel gave him a pointed look. "When I want to," Sirius added.

There was a pause before Sirius said, "I bet you have some huge plan to take over the Ministry and be in charge of everything. Make it law for people to give you all of their candy."

Rachel laughed. "Oh, you've got me all figured out."

"Seriously though, what do you want to do when you get out of here?" Sirius asked. "I don't doubt that it's extremely nerdy."

Rachel smiled. "I want to be a journalist."

"What, and work for the Prophet?" Sirius asked, shock filling his voice.

"No, in the muggle world," Rachel clarified. "I can't wait to escape the wizarding world all together."

Sirius gave her a shocked look. "_What_?" he exclaimed. "But the wizarding world is so amazing and interesting and there are so many opportunities waiting out there and—"

"And it tore apart my family," Rachel interrupted.

Sirius looked away and sighed. After a long silence, he quietly said, "It did, didn't it?"

"Your little wand-waving isn't so amazing now, is it?" Rachel teased with a smile.

Sirius smiled back at her. "Why do you play Quidditch?"

Rachel shrugged. "Hell if I know. I only like flying," Rachel replied. "I was forced into the whole Seeker thing."

There was silence for a while. They both just sat there in quietness and stared out on the lake.

After a long internal battle, Rachel sighed and said, "I don't understand what you—"

But she was cut off quite abruptly by Sirius' lips.

She didn't hesitate to kiss him back, her hands going to his shoulders and pulling him closer. Once more, Rachel couldn't help but feel herself going back to Hogsmeade on that cold winter's day. Especially when she smelled the faint scent of firewhiskey on him.

Sirius pulled away reluctantly, but his face was still dangerously close to hers as he breathed out, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Rachel replied, just as quietly.

"You know for what."

He gave no explanation, only joined their lips once more. And Rachel couldn't say she minded as she leaned back on the ground and as she pulled him closer and closer so their bodies were perfectly molded together.

* * *

Sirius pulled her so close, as if he was afraid that if he let go she'd get away again and it would take him a whole other year to get her back again.

Everything felt so… right. It felt right when her hands lightly skimmed down his back and long his sides. It felt right when she sighed and when he felt her hands going into his hair.

It felt incredibly right when he moved to kiss along her jaw and smelled the scent of wild violet in her hair.

He didn't want to move from that moment. He suddenly despised summer break.

But he had it for then. And that would be enough.

* * *

From far away in a small blueberry bush, the scene would've looked like a fairytale ending, or any other relationship at Hogwarts.

But to the onlooker hiding in said blueberry bush, it was disgusting and left a sour and bitter taste in the spy's mouth.

However, a plan was already devising in the hider's brain.

* * *

**I'm not entirely happy with it, but oh well :) If you're suddenly worried it'll be moving too fast... all I can say is, don't worry. Trust me on that one. Also, next chapter is longer (3 cheers for Amelia!)**

**-Who do you think the spy is?  
-End of sixth year... moving right along into seventh. Do you think they'll still be together for 7th?  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-What do you think the spy will do?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	11. Of Incidents and Mistakes

**A/N: So, this is longer and a little... vague... when it comes to the S.S. Sirchel :) If anyone cares... I possibly failed my History final, along with my elections speech. Meep. But I got a 96 in Math (yay).**

* * *

Rachel woke with a start, cold sweat covering her face from a nightmare that was quickly slipping away from her. Once she had calmed down, she sighed heavily and let herself fall back into the plush mattress of her four-poster bed.

After lying there completely still for a while, Rachel discovered that she wasn't going back to sleep. She pushed aside her curtains and stepped out of bed.

_And now what? _she asked herself. Would she sneak down to the library to read? Or perhaps sneak down to the kitchens to smuggle some food (that being the most tempting of her ideas)?

Would she go to Sirius?

No, she would not. That she was sure of. What she was not sure of was whether Sirius even wanted a relationship with a nearly seventeen year-old girl that couldn't go back to bed after a nightmare.

Maybe he really did just want to snog her. It did seem like the most believable option to Rachel.

So she got dressed, cast a disillusionment charm on herself, and set off for the kitchens.

On the way, she passed a clock that said it was four in the morning.

That night became routine for her. Along with the nightmares.

* * *

Rachel entered the great Hall a few hours later to see it filled with fully-rested students bustling about and eating breakfast. Rachel tried to listen in to the regular breakfast blab. Breakfast was usually when most rumors got around and Rachel wanted to know if she had to do any damage control. She wasn't putting it past Sirius' crazy fan club and the Spotter Club to stalk Sirius everywhere.

Fortunately, she heard nothing.

And when she sat down at the Gryffindor table and Sirius barely acknowledged her from a few seats down, her heart may have cracked just a bit, but she would never admit it.

Rachel attempted to push all of her negativity and tiredness out of her head as she sat down next to Lily and across from Marlene. Dorcas quickly appeared beside her, followed by Mary and Alice.

"Out of bed before us again," Marlene observed. "What on earth is going on with you? Do you have a fever or something?"

"Nothing!" Rachel replied defensively.

"That's the 'I'm hiding something' tone," Lily noted smugly.

"Really?" Rachel asked. "You always seem to be using that tone."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily demanded.

"She wants to know if you're frolicking into anyone's bed," Dorcas stated bluntly, the ghost of a smile oh her face. "Potter, specifically."

"Oh, I already know enough," Rachel teased with a smirk. In all honesty, she knew Lily wasn't even slightly interested in James, but it was fun to watch her squirm.

"So Alice," Rachel began, "what's new with you?"

Alice sighed sullenly and rested her elbows on the table, her hands supporting her chin. "Nothing," she replied sadly. "Still in the same rut with Frank."

Rachel gave her a sympathetic look and turned to Mary.

But before she could say anything, the doors to the Great Hall smashed open and the body at the entrance fell over, hitting the cold stone floor with a resonating thud in the silence if the Great Hall.

* * *

Rachel quickly got over her initial shock and was one of the first to stand up and run towards the fallen girl, along with Lily, Marlene, Mary, and Alice. The murmur started soon after, quickly escalating into a ruckus.

Rachel ran right up to the fallen girl and tried to help her as much as she could. She lifted her head from the stone floor and Rachel recognized her as a fellow Gryffindor. It was Emmeline Vance. She rarely talked to her, but Emmeline was one of the kindest people she knew.

She heard McGonagall running up behind her before the professor ordered, "Out of the way, we must take her to the infirmary."

Lily gently helped Rachel up in her socked state and they watched Emmeline be carried up to the infirmary by Hagrid. Rachel couldn't speak. She didn't really no what to think or why this happened, but she did know one thing.

Emmeline was a muggle-born. It was about time that everything from the Prophet about You-Know-Who started coming to life.

Rachel looked up and her gaze shifted to the Slytherin crowd. Standing near the front with his nose in the air was none other than Lucius Malfoy. Rachel desperately wanted to just slap that smug look off of his face. At the same time, however, she felt the smallest inkling of fear growing in her, as his deceitful gaze was steady on her.

With her jaw set, she turned away and walked out of the Great Hall, brushing right past Sirius.

Who, unfortunately, did not attempt to stop her or speak to her.

* * *

When Sirius followed after Rachel and her friends and saw the bloodied form of Emmeline Vance on the stone floor of the Great Hall, hate and guilt bubbled up inside him like an overheated potion.

His hate was directed at his family, his brother, the whole Slytherin house, for Merlin's sake! When people heard his name, they would think of this; a muggle-born girl that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His hate, however, was also directed towards himself. He hated that he was Sirius _Black_. In that moment, he would've given anything to be anyone else.

And the guilt, it pulsed inside him like an overshadowing monster. He knew this would happen; he heard his parents' talk of 'the Dark Lord's first strike will be small, but mighty'. But he didn't want to listen to his father's angry bouts, when he told Sirius that he'd end up just like all the other 'mudbloods' in that 'bloody school of yours'; murdered and trampled on.

All of this suddenly bubbled into anger as he looked up and saw his brother standing next to Malfoy like a little minion. Sirius' icy glare stayed focused on Regulus, who only blankly stared back. How could Sirius possibly be related to him?

Regulus narrowed his eyes at his brother. He didn't seem scared or fazed by Sirius' glare, He just seemed… unmoved. As if nothing of what just happened affected him.

Sirius felt someone push past him and that was when he caught Regulus scoff and look away. After a moment's hesitation, Sirius averted his gaze from his brother and turned to see who brushed past him, but saw no one.

* * *

Rachel nervously stood next to Emmeline's bed with her arms crossed. She'd been waiting for the girl to wake up. Rachel had been in the kitchens early that morning when she decided that a better way to spend her time would be to go see Emmeline.

And now, at seven in the morning, the wounded girl slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see Rachel standing at her bedside. Rachel smiled when she saw that Emmeline had woken up.

"How're you feeling?" Rachel asked, sitting on a chair next to her.

"Fine…" Emmeline responded slowly. "Did everyone else die except for the two of us or…?"

Rachel laughed. "No… unfortunately," she replied. This time Emmeline laughed. "But I thought I'd drop by to see how you're doing."

"I'm all right, considering I was attacked," Emmeline replied.

"Do you remember—?"

Rachel was cut off by a shriek as someone ran into the infirmary.

It was Irene. Well, it was about time. She'd been quiet for too long.

But Rachel was too on guard because of yesterday's event, so she stood up quickly and asked, "What? What happened? Is everything okay?"

"You'll never guess!" Irene shrieked. Happiness seemed to be her primary emotion. Rachel became confused.

"I won't, so tell me," Rachel said, clearly confused.

"Okay, so, like, I was just walking around and, like, minding my own business, right?" Irene started. "But then, like, you won't guess what I heard!"

"For Merlin's sake, Irene!" Rachel exclaimed. She was seriously peeved by now.

"Okay, so, Sirius Black—"

"Are you _kidding me_?" Rachel interrupted. Irene stopped talking abruptly, her face clouded with hurt and confusion. "People are getting attacked and all you care about is the next piece of gossip about Sirius Black?"

"But this is—"

"No! I don't care if he's actually a dog that likes to roll around in mud and plays fetch with giant spiders!" Rachel interrupted. "Why can't you ever take life serious—no, ugh, that's not—forget it!"

Irene crossed her arms with a 'humph' and narrowed her eyes at Rachel as she said, "_Someone_ clearly has an inactive sex life."

Behind her, Rachel could hear Emmeline snort, trying to keep down her laughter. In shock and amusement, Rachel's jaw dropped.

"Did you…" Rachel tried to form words, but she couldn't because the next thing she knew, her and Emmeline were laughing like idiots.

Irene stood there staring at the two of them, dumbfounded. An angry expression came over her face as she shrieked, "I _insulted_ you and you _laugh_?"

Through her laughter, Rachel managed to form a reply, "Irene, you need to learn something about me: You-Know-Who himself can come here and spew all the insults he wants and I still won't give a flying fuck."

Irene's expression turned offended and angry as she turned around to stomp off, but she stopped abruptly and seemed to have been shocked still. Emmeline and Rachel didn't notice this as they were still laughing.

"Inactive—oh Merlin!" Emmeline laughed.

"Sex!" Rachel laughed.

"… What?"

Rachel stopped laughing and turned around to see the reason Irene was still standing there.

Brilliant Sirius Black chose the perfect time to step in, didn't he?

Rachel smirked. "We were talking about your inactive sex life." She could hear Emmeline's stifled giggles behind her.

"Excuse me, I'll have you know that—"

But he was interrupted because Rachel and Emmeline started laughing again.

"Why'd you get so offended, Black?" Emmeline asked through her laughter.

"I didn't get—" Sirius shook his head. "What's wrong with the two of you, anyway?"

"Why don't you ask Blabber Mouth over here," Rachel replied, gesturing to Irene, who still hadn't moved or said anything.

"Why are you here, Sirius?" Irene sputtered out with a smile on her face.

"Erm… I, uh, needed to talk to Madam Pomfrey…" Sirius muttered.

"Pretty bad lying for a Marauder," Emmeline whispered to Rachel. Rachel nodded in agreement, a smirk on her face.

"She's not here!" Irene replied, still smiling. She stepped closer. "Anything I could do to help?"

"You could give him a sex life," Rachel muttered, smirking. Her and Emmeline tried to stifle their laughter. Sirius glared at her, but he was hiding a smile as well.

Irene turned sharply towards Rachel and then she ran out of the infirmary.

Sirius turned to Rachel. "Well that got rid of her pretty quick," Rachel observed, surprised. "I thought she'd stick around for the offer."

"Yeah, I should be a Marauder; professionally avoiding slags since Merlin's days."

"Oh, more like since the days of Godric Gryffindor," Emmeline said.

"Yes, well said," Rachel replied. She turned to Sirius. "Anyways, why _are_ you here?"

He gave her a pointed look. Rachel frowned as confusion clouded her face.

"Yes…" she coaxed. "When one desires to speak, they must open their mouth and make noise using their vocal chords."

Emmeline was quick to realize what was going on, but said nothing. She only sat back in her bed and poked Rachel's back. Rachel turned to glare at her and Emmeline only rolled her eyes.

Sirius sighed exasperatedly. "Lily wants to talk to you and she asked me to get you."

"Oh… okay," Rachel stood up and followed after Sirius, waving goodbye to Emmeline. Why would Lily ask Sirius to get her? This didn't seem right.

Once they had exited the infirmary, Sirius grabbed her hand and led her to a more hidden hallway.

"Wait, what's happening?" Rachel asked in confusion. "Where's Lily?"

Sirius turned to her with a smirk. "You had a tough time understanding that I needed to talk to you so I used my handy dandy Marauder skills."

"Sorry, I don't speak facial expression," Rachel replied sarcastically, crossing her arms and facing Sirius. "Anyways, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"What do you think?" Sirius asked.

After a long pause, Rachel replied, "I can't understand telepathy either."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "The lake, Rachel. What else?"

"Oh. Right. That."

"Why'd you snog me back?" Sirius asked quickly.

Rachel frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Fredricks," Sirius said with a smirk. He leaned in closer and Rachel immediately recognized his teasing attitude. She raised an eyebrow. "You know me. And I know that we have different interests."

"Why'd you snog me in the first place then?" Rachel asked.

Sirius smirked. "Maybe I was looking for a good time."

"Maybe I was too."

"No you weren't."

Rachel stepped back. "What makes you so sure?"

"Good question."

They stood in silence for a moment. Rachel spoke first when she quietly asked, "What happens now?"

Sirius looked up at her and simply shrugged.

Rachel was let down by him once more. So she simply turned around and walked away.

* * *

**Next chapter is the last of sixth year... heh, almost got you on that one :)**

**-This kind of leaves a huge, gaping hole in the S.S Sirchel... LIFEBOATS EVERYBODY!  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-Thoughts?  
-Any other guesses on who the spy might've been? (someone was right last chapter, but I'm not going to say who)**

**Hasta la vista, muchachos :)**


	12. Home Free

**A/N: So I had a storyline for this chapter, but I got to 1500 words and decided to split it in half. The next chapter is actually a tad longer and quite a bit more exciting.**

* * *

Rachel was sitting in a compartment with Emmeline on the train. They had become very good friends in the past week and Rachel enjoyed her company. Rachel closed her eyes and sighed. That was the calmest she'd ever felt in a long time. She opened her eyes and Emmeline tossed her a chocolate frog from across the compartment.

"Don't fall asleep on me," Emmeline said, "or else I'll be forced to sit here and twiddle my thumbs."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Em," Rachel replied with a smile.

The door to the compartment smashed open loudly to reveal Marlene, who walked in with her usual air of confidence and took a seat next to Emmeline. _Always one for an entrance_, Rachel observed to herself with a small smile. Marlene smiled back at her.

"You're looking mighty happier," she observed, sitting down next to Emmeline. "What happened? Did Lils fall in a ditch?"

Rachel laughed and replied, "Close, but not quite." Rachel should've been heartbroken, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was just happy that she now knew exactly what kind of person Sirius was.

At that moment, the compartment door opened to reveal Lily and Dorcas who walked in and took their seats, Dorcas next to Rachel and Lily next to Dorcas. The compartment door opened once more and Mary walked in with a quick greeting to all of them and then proceeded to sit down next to Marlene.

"Hey, where's Alice?" Rachel asked.

"Patching things up," Mary replied with a smirk. They all laughed.

After a long, silent pause, Emmeline sighed and said, "Merlin, I'm bored. We need something _fun_."

"Glad you brought that up," Dorcas replied. She pulled out a small pouch that seemed to be filled with small, round objects. "Stink bombs and smoke bombs. Snagged them off Peeves. I was thinking we could prank the pranksters."

"Oh, I like the way you think," Emmeline said happily.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no," Lily said quickly. "I am a _prefect_ and I will not tol—"

"No one cares, Lils," Rachel interrupted. "Don't ruin our fun."

Lily sighed. "Fine," she said. After a pause, she added, "and which member of Gryffindor would we be pranking then?"

Dorcas clapped her on the back. "That's the spirit!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "And the Marauders, of course."

"Uh… what?" Rachel said. "You have a death wish, right?"

"Death wish, fun," Dorcas started. "Same thing."

Marlene stood up. "I'm game."

Rachel glanced at everyone else in the compartment. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she stood up. "Fine. Let's do this."

* * *

Rachel leaned her body fully against the outer compartment wall as the candy trolley rolled past her. She let out a small sigh of relief as the trolley witch strolled past, not seeing past her disillusionment charm. She looked back and detected the slightest, petite blur that could only be Mary.

Rachel tightened her grip around the small, convenient stink bomb in her left hand and a smoke bomb in her right. She waited close by the door that led inside the Marauders' compartment. Any minute now, Remus would have to open the door to leave for prefect duties.

The six of them decided to spare him. He was too nice.

In that moment, the door opened and Rachel just barely slipped in as Remus walked out. She felt someone tighten their hand around her arm and knew that one other person had made it in only. They'd have to give the Marauders a reason to open the door again.

"So Padfoot," she heard James say, "been up to anything lately?"

"Nope," Sirius replied as he popped a Peppermint Imp into his mouth.

"What are you guys doing for the summer?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Everything I can to piss off my parents," Sirius replied with a smirk. "I have a feeling I'll actually need to put in some effort this year."

Rachel rolled her eyes and looked around the compartment. Her eyes landed on the doorknob of the compartment door. She took out her wand and muttered a quick spell, causing the doorknob to shake violently. The Marauders, sans Remus, stopped their chatter and looked up. Sirius stood up and slid the door open to check the hallway. She felt two bodies bash into her, followed by another heavy weight that pushed Rachel all the way back into the compartment window and caused her to fall on the floor, all of the body weight on top of her. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming and took a few deep breaths to not push them all off of her violently.

"Weird," Sirius concluded as he shut the door.

Rachel felt all of the weight suddenly come off her so she took the opportunity to stand up. She reached out to find her friends, which was simple considering they were all squished together in a far corner of the compartment, and clutched the smoke bomb tightly in her hand.

With a push of courage, she threw down her smoke bomb, causing black smoke to erupt from it and reduce the visibility in the compartment completely. Five other bangs were heard as the other bombs were activated. The six of them quickly dropped their stink bombs and exited the compartment as quickly as they could.

The moment they exited, a loud bang emitted from the compartment and the six of them made a break for it, laughing like idiots. They were visible by now, but only because some of the black smoke had settled on them. Once they had all reached their compartment, they removed their disillusionment charms and tumbled into their compartment laughing.

"Now _that_ is how you end your year with a bang," Emmeline commented.

"Obviously, we have to top this next year," Dorcas added.

"Well, duh," Rachel agreed, smiling widely.

Lily sighed. The smile on her face was very apparent. "I can't help but agree that that was quite a bit of fun," she said. "And they had it coming."

"I'm happy we spared Remus," Mary commented. "He wrote my final Transfiguration essay in third year."

The six of them laughed as they recounted the recent events for the rest of the train ride.

* * *

"So apparently, while I was on prefect duties, the rest of the Marauders got pranked, "Remus explained to Lily and Rachel. "Go figure. I guess they really do need me."

"Yeah, and now you can rub it in their faces for the rest of your lives," Rachel added.

"Perks," Lily commented.

Remus sighed. "I probably won't rub it in their faces."

"Yeah, you're too nice," Dorcas commented as she walked up behind them. "I mean, what's wrong with you?"

Remus laughed. "You have a good summer, too."

He walked off to join his family. Rachel turned to Lily and Dorcas. "See you guys soon, hopefully?" Rachel said hopefully. "Keep in touch!"

She walked off to meet up with her father. She could tell he had just gotten off from work as he was still in his doctor's coat. He probably left as quickly as he could to meet Rachel there. And as she handed off her trunk to him, she couldn't help but think that she couldn't ask for a better father.

* * *

"Mate, keep in touch," James told Sirius. "Wouldn't want us falling apart."

"A divorce would be dreadful," Sirius replied with mock despair. The two of them broke out into laughter and waved goodbye.

Sirius reluctantly turned toward his family. Regulus was already there and he seemed to be eagerly discussing something with the dreadful human beings that were his parents. His father seemed to be listening intently to Regulus, but also focusing on Sirius, his beady eyes piercing straight through Sirius.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at his father as he reluctantly rolled his trunk over to his parents and brother. He stood his trolley upright and leaned against it.

"So, what's the first family activity?" Sirius asked sarcastically. "A trip to Prague? Maybe Rome, I've always wanted to see Rome."

"Watch your mouth, young man," his father hissed at him through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sirius brushed him off. "Anyway, you should've been there when Regulus here got his arse kicked in Quidditch. Wished I caught it on tape, but that's a muggle thing isn't it?"

The senior Black sent a vicious glare towards Sirius at his comment before swiftly turning around and briskly walking off. His mother stuck her nose in the air and followed after. Regulus trailed behind them and Sirius reluctantly dragged his feet to the dreadful place he called home.

When he looked up, the first thing he saw was Rachel embracing her father. He smiled at her and they immediately started chatting.

And why in the name of Merlin could Sirius not have parents that actually cared about him?

* * *

**Yep, so that's that.**

**-Any guess on part 2 of this brief storyline?  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-How was the prank? Too far-fetched? OOC?**

**Thanks for reading :) x Chapter 13 will hopefully be up Friday!**


	13. Disowned

**A/N: Funny I should say this, but this story line I had keeps extending... more of it in the next chapter :)**

* * *

Summer had proved to be quite beneficial for Rachel for the time being. She had gone swimming at the lake nearly everyday, been biking on most of the trails around her house, and gone to the cinema with Lily and Mary.

But she still woke up at four in the morning every day.

And now she was sitting on a woven chair on her porch sipping tea at that early time of the morning.

Rachel was realizing that she could use this unfortunate habit to her advantage. She always found time to think because of this. What she thought about always varied, and her thinking never really brought her to a conclusion but further confused her situations. But she had more time to think than she ever had before.

It was that early morning of July the first that she found herself thinking about Sirius. Which was ridiculous, because she didn't care for him anymore. He had managed to prove her right; he didn't care for relationships. And Rachel was perfectly fine with accepting that.

She heard the door creak open and she jumped as she turned around to see her dad exiting the house and locking the door. When he turned around and saw Rachel sitting on the porch, he jumped in surprise.

"Good heavens, I didn't see you there!" he exclaimed. With a joking smile on his face, he added, "What are you doing up at four in the morning anyway? Planning to best me at my career?"

"Oh, you caught me, Dad," Rachel replied sarcastically.

He smiled. "Now, why are you _really _up at four in the morning?"

"I just woke up early," Rachel replied.

"Rach, you can't get away with that," her father replied. "You are exactly like your mother: a perfectly peaceful sleeper, until the dragon is awoken. What's on your mind?"

Rachel sighed. She should've guessed that she couldn't get away with lying to her dad. "Just… stuff," Rachel answered quietly. "I've had a lot on my mind since school ended."

"Stuff?" her dad asked. "Not people?"

Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Dad."

"All right, I won't push the topic any further," he replied. Rachel nodded with a smile. Rachel's dad smiled back. "Don't throw any parties, okay?"

"No promises!" Rachel called as her father headed down the porch steps and into his car to head to work.

* * *

Sirius sat at his desk on the afternoon of July first pondering on who he should write to.

Writing to friends kept him fairly occupied and out of the way of his elitist pureblood family most of the time. He had already sent a letter to James, but it was mostly Quidditch talk and, well… girls, obviously. He had also sent letters to Remus to make sure he would be all right on his own for the upcoming full moon, and to Peter, asking him about what he was doing for the summer.

But it was only one in the afternoon and Sirius did _not_ want to step outside of his room. Surely, someone else would come to mind.

And someone else did come to mind.

He leaned forward at his desk and neatly printed the start of his letter:

_Dear Rachel,_

Well, he definitely couldn't send that.

In all honesty, he didn't know what to write. He wasn't sure anything would cut it and she would probably throw it in the trash the moment she saw his handwriting. And she had all the right to do so. He had been an absolute prat to her. Sirius himself didn't understand why he had turned her away like that. It was truly his loss.

And he couldn't take his actions back. Nevertheless, he found his quill meeting the slightly crumpled parchment.

_Dear Rachel,_

_I'm sorry. I am an idiot._

Sirius stared at his progress. "I guess I'm also quite illiterate," Sirius mumbled to himself. He had to come up with something more. Maybe something poetic. Did Rachel like poetic things?

He threw his quill on his desk and sat back in his chair with his arms crossed. Why did he care, anyway? It was just some bird, for Merlin's sake! Why did she matter so much to him?

After a few minutes of self-fuming, he was about to pick up his quill and attempt to write something better, but a loud, thunderous knock at his door interrupted him. He hadn't gotten a chance to ask who it was when his father barged in.

At least he knocked. That was noticeable progress.

"Busy sending letters to your blood traitor friends?" his father sneered.

"I actually did that this morning and was thinking of something I could do with my time that didn't involve my discriminatory family, since you're so interested," Sirius replied smartly.

The elder Black lunged forward and grabbed his son's shirt collar. "Don't get smart with me," he hissed. "We need to talk about your school year."

"It was rather uneventful, if you must know, but hey!" Sirius began. "Look on the bright side: I got an O in Care of Magical Creatures!"

His father's angry glare was piercing and obvious and Sirius felt his grip on his shirt get tighter. "How astounding," Orion drawled. His father stepped back suddenly and stood tall just a few feet away from where Sirius was sitting.

"Yes, well, Potions didn't go as I planned," Sirius continued. "I got an A. But I think that was because Slughorn felt sorry for me."

Orion narrowed his eyes at his son. "Seventeen years I have had to deal with your _nonsense_ and _ridiculousness_," Orion began distastefully. "Every year I had high hopes for you and every year you disappointed me more greatly than the last. But you have really outdone yourself this time and I am _ashamed_ to call you my son."

"Well, Merlin, I'll try and get an E next year," Sirius replied. "I didn't know that Po—"

His father's fist slammed down on his desk loudly and his face came right up to Sirius. "_This is not about your bloody marks, you disgraceful being!_"

Sirius felt a surge of anger as he stood up, sending his chair flying backwards. "Well, sorry for not being able to read your bloody mind!" he retorted angrily.

Orion pushed his son against a wall harshly, holding him there so he couldn't move. Sirius struggled under his father's strong grip. "You dare even speak to me after you did something so… so… _unspeakable_."

"What? What did I do this time?" Sirius shouted back, his face red with anger. "Was I too nice to the trolley lady on the train? Did Regulus tell you that I nicked his broom during finals? Well that's too bloody bad!"

"You fraternized with that filth!" Orion shouted in his face, the level of his voice going well above Sirius'.

Confusion clouded Sirius' face. "What?"

"That mudblood filth, how dare you!"

Realization suddenly struck Sirius and something inside him gave him the power to push his father and make him stumble backwards, almost falling over. "She's not filth," Sirius seethed.

"Oh, and you have _feelings_ for her," Orion drawled. "How _disgusting_. I think I preferred it when you had your way with them."

"Well next time maybe I'll go off with my own cousin and we'll have children with three arms each!" Sirius shouted at his father.

"At least they'll be pureblood!"

"_You_ are the disgusting one."

Sirius suddenly felt a sharp, searing pain on his face as he fell to the floor of his bedroom, his head taking most of the hit. He winced as his vision blurred and a sharp pain attacked his temple.

"You are no son of mine."

Sirius felt a kick in his gut that made him feel sick. He clutched his sides in pain as he coughed.

"You're _weak_."

This time, Sirius managed to roll away from the kick and stand up with the help of his bedpost. The anger displayed on his father's face was not only evident but also fearful. Sirius tried to hold his gaze without any fear.

"If you truly feel that way, I'll gladly leave," Sirius muttered quietly, distaste in his tone.

"That would be for the best, wouldn't it?"

Sirius turned around and swept a remainder of things in his trunk. He shut it closed and briskly walked out of the room past his father. He rolled his trunk down the stairs as quickly as he could. At the bottom, Regulus was standing there with a pleased smirk on his face.

"Are you happy now?" Sirius snapped. "Your blood traitor brother is gone; Malfoy and Nott will no longer make fun of you! You can be a true minion."

"Sirius!" his mother's stern voice was heard not far behind him, but he didn't turn to confront her.

"I am quite pleased with the situation, actually," Regulus replied quietly.

"How did you find out anyway?" Sirius hissed.

"You should take your slags somewhere more private," Regulus replied.

"_She's not a slag_," Sirius's reply came out sharp and threatening.

"Well, it sure looked like that," Regulus replied with a smirk.

Sirius reached for his wand, but his father's voice stopped him, "Don't you _dare_ hurt your family, you disgraceful son. You don't deserve the name of Black!"

"Good!" Sirius shouted at his father. "I don't want it! I wish I could get rid of it! I wish I was never born into this family! It's so twisted and wrong and I hate everything that comes with that name!"

"You don't mean that!" his mother gasped angrily.

"I do!" Sirius shouted. "You don't know how much I mean it!"

"And where are you going to go?" Orion's loud, booming voice interrupted. "To your blood traitor friends? They don't even like you. They fell the same way about the name of Black."

Sirius held his father's gaze for a silent moment before turning around and walking for the door.

"Perfect! Leave!" he heard his father behind him. "Good riddance!"

And Sirius slammed that dreaded door of number twelve Grimmauld Place behind him.

* * *

**Well, that's that :)**

**-What could Amelia _possibly_ add on to this story line?  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-Was the whole family thing to intense? Unrealistic?**

**Merci pour lire! :)**


	14. Friendship is a Fortunate Circumstance

**A/N: What's this? Chapter 14, of course! :)**

* * *

Rachel had done absolutely nothing the whole day. She just sat down and drank tea and read books. When her father came home at seven in the evening, she was still sitting there, already onto her second novel.

"Don't tell me you've been here all day," her father said to her, hintingly joking.

Rachel looked up blankly. She blinked a few times and replied, "I left for the library at ten in the morning to get my books. If that counts."

Her father smiled at her. He sighed. "Well, I'm glad you're not off doing all of those muggle drugs. You don't know how many patients I have your age because of that."

"Oh, I don't think I want to know," Rachel quickly replied.

Her father gave her another smile before he walked into the house and left his daughter to her reading.

* * *

She hadn't moved all day. And the only way Sirius knew that was because he was in his Animagus for all day hiding in a bush watching her.

It was definitely creepy.

But it didn't seem to matter because it wasn't like Sirius really had a home now. So, for some reason, the first thing that came to mind the moment he left Number 12 Grimmauld Place was to check up on Rachel. And she seemed to be doing fine.

She seemed absolutely happy, actually.

So it was late at night when Rachel finally went inside that Sirius got out of his Animagus form and decided to Apparate to the Potters'. Last summer they had made it perfectly clear that he was always welcome and Sirius was hoping that that offer still stood now that he really didn't have anywhere else to go.

With a pop, Sirius found himself facing the Potters' giant house, surrounded by gardens, a courtyard, and, most importantly, a Quidditch field. The sun was just setting at the late hour of nearly ten in the evening and he wasn't surprised to find James and his father at the front of the house. They both looked up when they heard the pop and James broke into a smirk when he saw Sirius.

"Hey Padfoot, what're you doing here?" James asked, walking up to Sirius, followed by his father.

"Um, well," Sirius began, "I kind of left home." _Wow, no kidding._

James' father smiled. "Well it's a good thing you're always welcome here!"

Sirius smiled gratefully. "I was hoping you'd say that."

The three men laughed and talked as they walked into the house and prepared a room for Sirius.

That was when Sirius realized that he had finally found his family. It was right under his nose all along.

* * *

"What the bloody hell is this?"

Rachel shot a glare at Marlene. Maybe sometimes she should have kept her opinion to herself.

"It's your birthday present!" Lily exclaimed happily.

Lily, Dorcas, and Rachel had decided to take Marlene to see a film for her seventeenth birthday. The cinema they had chosen was one of the biggest and newest around. Obviously, Marlene wasn't happy.

"I don't get it," Marlene replied.

"_Told you_ she wouldn't like it," Dorcas sighed.

"Is, like, the building mine or what?" Marlene asked. "Is this a Muggle thing?"

Rachel massaged her temples as she tried to calm down. _I will not slap Marlene, I will not slap her…_

"We're taking you to see a film, Marls," Dorcas explained with a bored tone. "It's a Muggle thing."

"What on earth is a film?" Marlene asked blankly.

"Don't you pay attention in Muggle Studies?" Lily asked.

"Uh, no, I sleep during Muggle Studies," Marlene replied.

"I thought that was History of Magic," Rachel mentioned.

"That too," Marlene replied with a smirk. _Sirius smirks… Merlin, listen to yourself_. Rachel shook her head and sighed. She needed to forget all about _that_.

Lily shook her head. "Well, we can see a romance, comedy, or action," Lily said, reading off the billboard. "I say romance."

"Ew, no," Rachel immediately said. "Comedy. We're seeing a comedy."

"What? Are you kidding me?" Dorcas exclaimed. "I'm in a 'watch people try to kill each other' mood. We're seeing an action film."

"No—"

"Shut up!" Marlene exclaimed. "It's my birthday and I say we go see…" Marlene paused and looked at the billboard. "Ooh, what's _King Kong?_ Let's go see that."

As Lily groaned, Dorcas whooped and Rachel shrugged indifferently. However, she quickly turned to glare at Lily.

"What's your problem, _King Kong_'s supposed to have romance," Rachel said. "I personally wanted to see _Pink Panther_, but I'll be mature and let you three have your fun."

"But… _Pink Panther_ is a kid's thing," Lily replied.

"No it's not!" Rachel exclaimed defensively.

"What is _Pink Panther_?" Marlene asked.

Rachel waved her off. "It doesn't matter, let's go watch _King Kong_. I heard it's good. Action, horror, romance, and idiotic humans," Rachel replied. "I actually can't wait."

The four of them laughed and walked together into the cinema for what turned out to be the best day of that summer.

* * *

"Woohoo! Can't catch me, Prongs!"

"Bring it, Padfoot!"

Sirius zoomed through the Potters' gardens on his broom, James closely on his tail. They had been flying around and taking turns trying to catch and tackle each other to the ground. It was idiotic but very expected of the legendary Padfoot and Prongs.

"And why am I not surprised?"

Sirius and James stopped their flying to see who had spoken. It was Remus who had mentioned in an earlier letter that he would be visiting some time that week. Sirius smirked and rolled so he was hanging upside down from his broom.

"Cool trick, huh Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Sure," Remus replied. "Not sure how it will make you a better Beater."

"It only makes him more perfect than he already is. Obviously," James replied sarcastically.

Sirius rolled his eyes and jumped off of his broom. He smirked. "Prongs gets it," Sirius said.

"Yeah, and I'm unbelievably infatuated with him as well," James chaffed.

Remus laughed and Sirius glared at the two of them. They walked inside where sandwiches and cold lemonade was waiting for them. Peter had already eaten the cookies and Sirius hit his arm when he noticed this.

"Aw, come on, Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed. "You have to leave some good stuff for us!"

"_Sowee_," Peter mumbled with his mouth full of cookies. A few crumbs fell out when he tried to talk. Sirius and James laughed and Remus shook his head.

"Why am I friends with you?" Remus questioned. "The enigma of life."

"You're using big words," James observed. "Must be feeling better."

"Vaguely," Remus replied. "It's obviously not as easy without you three," he added sarcastically.

The four of them laughed and Peter said, "I suppose I have to go. My parents are dragging me to the mountains for the summer. I'm dreading it."

"Oh, a day in the mountains could do you some good, Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe you'll lose some weight, get in shape for the ladies."

"You could join the Quidditch team!" James exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Maybe you'll actually be able to keep up with Padfoot here out of Animagi form," Remus added.

"Oi, stop joking around, you lot," Peter grumbled.

"I suppose we'll have to leave him alone," Sirius sighed. "Take some good pictures for us though!" Peter left with a goodbye.

"Well, anyways," James began. "Sirius and I are heading to Muggle London tomorrow. Wanna come along, Moony?"

"Nah, I can't, thanks for offering, though," Remus replied.

"Then it's just us two, Prongs," Sirius said with a smirk. "We'll be picking up birds like mad."

* * *

Rachel groaned loudly as the warmth and softness of her duvet left her body. She tried to make a grab for it and pull it back without getting up and opening her eyes, but her assailant had thrown the duvet in a far corner of Rachel's room. Rachel stuffed her face in her pillow and screamed into the soft fabric.

She finally stopped screaming and yelled into her pillow, "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I'm perfectly fine."

Rachel's head shot up, her face distorted into a frown. "Lils?"

"Marlene and Mary are downstairs raiding your fridge," Lily replied simply. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Um, early?"

"No, _late_," Lily said sharply. "It's two in the afternoon."

Rachel suddenly jumped in shock and tumbled out of her bed. Her face hit the rug that was on her hardwood floor and she groaned as she stood up. "I have got to stop doing that…" she mumbled, rubbing her cheek. "Anyways, stop lying, it's not two in the afternoon."

Lily didn't reply. She only grabbed Rachel's clock off of her nightstand and shoved it in her face.

"Holy fuck, it's two in the afternoon!" Rachel exclaimed. How had she managed to sleep so long?

"Yeah, now get up, we're going to Muggle London."

Rachel pouted. "But I don't wanna—"

"You're coming," Lily interrupted. Rachel knew there was no arguing with Lily when she had her mind set on something. "We're heading out for gelato and tea."

On the other hand, Rachel couldn't really turn down gelato and tea. She grabbed her housecoat off of the chair at her desk and pulled it on with a sigh. "Fine."

"And close up your robe, goodness," Lily said.

"Uh, I didn't ask you to storm into my room," Rachel shot back.

"Well, I wouldn't have if I knew you slept in your undergarments," Lily replied. "Since when do you do that, anyways?"

"Since I'm not in Scotland any longer and it's summer so it's boiling hot," Rachel replied. "Duh."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. "Now go get ready before Marls and Mary eat all of your food."

* * *

**Whee, there's that. Now, I have unfortunate news, my friends. Th next update won't be until Friday because I have to study for finals and yadda-yadda-ya, so I have no time to write. _However_, when I say Friday, I mean Friday the latest (in the circumstance that I have writer's block).**

**Anyways...**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Did you like the chapter?  
-Excited for more?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	15. Nothing to Say

**A/N: Tralalala did you know that starting a fresh chapter is the toughest thing in the world (especially after a huge writing spree)? Well, it is. Anyways, here's numero 15 :)**

* * *

"I don't get why you want to go _here_," Sirius repeated for what must have been the twentieth time.

Sirius looked around the small, quaint tea and gelato shop. _Alfredo's_ was a well-known muggle shop, so Sirius was surprised James even knew about it. It wasn't so much that it was a bad, run-down place (it was actually kind of nice, with an Italian theme and everything), but more that Sirius would rather be doing something more… exciting.

"Because… there's ice cream," James explained poorly.

"Actually, it's gelato."

Sirius must've been hearing things. It honest to Merlin could not be who he thought it was.

He turned around quickly and sure enough, it was. Standing behind him with the most annoyed look on her face Sirius had ever seen was Rachel. In that moment, he kind of felt like dancing around in joy and suffocating himself at the same time.

However, Sirius quickly got over his initial shock and plastered a smirk on his face. "Well, look what the cat dragged in."

"Oh, I know mornings aren't really my thing, but do I really look that bad?" Rachel retaliated.

_Well, bloody hell, now I remember why I went after her in the first place..._ Sirius thought to himself. And she really didn't look bad at all. She was dressed in simple summer clothes. Just a pair of shorts and an open plaid shirt revealing a patterned tank top underneath. But Sirius wasn't going to admit that he thought she looked positively amazing. They were _both_ too stubborn to admit attraction to the other.

Sirius didn't reply. He didn't think he could.

"Well then, can you say awkward," Marlene sighed. "This was a lousy idea, Lily."

"_What_?" Rachel exclaimed, turning to look pointedly at Lily.

"Way to go, Marls," Lily replied sarcastically, sending her friend a glare. "And it wasn't just _me_. This dolt here came up with most of the plan," Lily added, gesturing towards James.

"Wait, what?" Sirius said, clearly confused.

"Their 'brilliant' plan failed," Mary replied boringly. "Huzza."

"And what was the _objective_ of this plan exactly?" Rachel asked.

Lily stared at her blankly. "You really don't know?"

"Uh, neither do I, to be honest," Sirius added.

The group stood around in silence for a bit.

"Well, this didn't go as planned," Lily said, breaking the silence.

"I wouldn't know," Rachel mumbled.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Marlene said. "Let's order some gelato and pretend this never happened!" Everyone looked at her as if she was crazy. "What?" Marlene asked.

After no one replied, Mary said, "Well, it's better than James's and Lily's idea."

Lily quickly shot her friend a glare. Mary only shrugged and sat down at a table, followed by Marlene. Rachel sighed and sat down as well. While she no longer had an appetite, it wasn't like she had any other way to get home but with Lily's Apparation. James sat down as well with a defeated sigh, followed by Sirius who sat down across from Rachel. She pointedly avoided his steady gaze. _Ugh, what does he want_, Rachel thought to herself.

Lily sighed. "Fine," she said. "Who wants what?"

"I'm not hungry," Rachel replied.

"You were excited about the gelato on the way over here," Lily replied.

"I'm not hungry," Rachel repeated pointedly.

Lily rolled her eyes and accepted Rachel's reply. She got everyone else's orders ad bought the gelato.

* * *

Sirius sat in the room that the Potters had set up for him. He wouldn't deny that it was very nice and very… cozy. It didn't feel cold and tense like his bedroom at Grimmauld Place. He felt comfortable, but that may have been because he didn't have to worry about his father busting the door down anymore.

Sirius leaned back in his chair and leafed through the parchments and envelopes in his hand. A good chunk of them were thrown on the floor, some were placed on the desk in front of him. Suddenly, he stopped at one. It was the letter he began writing to Rachel. He tossed the remainder of the parchment on the desk and stretched out the crumpled, written-on parchment in his hands. With a sigh, he placed the parchment on the desk and dipped a quill in some ink.

_Dear Rachel,_

_I'm sorry. I am an idiot._

_I feel like I let go of something huge by not telling you a lot of things. I let go of _you_, to be more specific, and I never told you how I felt. Maybe if I did, I wouldn't have lost you._

_The first thing you should know is that you weren't just another girl to check off of my list. Well, you might've been at first, but I got hooked on just getting your approval after awhile. And when I did get it, I acted like a complete arse. I don't really think these things through apparently._

_And I didn't tell you how wonderful I think you are. You are the one person I have ever had any amount of feelings for. Because you're absolutely perfect. You're beautiful and funny and, well, you didn't chase me around all the time so that was rather attractive._

_And I don't really know the point of this letter. I just needed to let you know, I guess. I know it won't matter now._

_Sincerely,_

_Sirius_

"Bloody hell, she'll probably puke…" Sirius muttered to himself. He shook his head as he sealed the letter in an envelope and stood up to call for his owl. He then paused.

Sirius grabbed his coat off of his chair and ran out of the room. He wasn't sure what he was doing, or why, but he knew it was crazy.

He shouted a quick, "I'm going out, be back soon," when he passed Mrs. Potter in the kitchen and Apparated the moment he got outside.

* * *

Rachel had been considering whether she should go inside for the night to the comfort of her bed or simply stay outside on her porch. Her dad wouldn't be back until eleven the next morning, so she could easily sneak back in without him knowing of her 'dangerous excursions'.

Before she could come to a final decision, however, Rachel heard a pop. She jumped and averted her attention to the noise and was shocked to see who was standing at the foot of the stairs of her porch.

"Sirius," Rachel said, still in a state of shock. Her eyes widened incredulously as he walked up to her. "What on earth are you doing here?" She really didn't want to ask how he even found out where she lived.

* * *

When Sirius came face to face with Rachel, he expected to feel quite a bit more confident than he felt in that moment.

He simply wasn't able to form words. It was ridiculous, when one thought about it. Sirius Black. _Tongue-tied _because of a girl. But, evidently, it wasn't just any girl. And the longer Sirius stood there, the more he was reminded that what he was about to say needed to be… well, perfect. He had been the biggest idiot ever and while Rachel suddenly forgiving him was hard to believe, Sirius was hoping that he could at least soften her with just the right words.

Words, however, seemed to be a problem for Sirius. He never before needed to _talk_ about his feelings for a girl. Heck, he never even had feelings for a girl.

And he was strongly considering just ripping up that bloody letter, then and there.

Sirius was noticing Rachel growing exasperated and annoyance clouding her face. This was bordering wasting her time. So before Sirius could stop himself, he did the first thing he could think of.

He leaned forward and kissed her.

His hands were cupping her face as their lips met and for a moment, Sirius panicked. She wasn't kissing him back and he was rather scared that she'd pull back and smack him into oblivion. But then she closed her eyes. And then he felt her push against his lips and he felt her hands slowly making their way up to his neck to pull him closer.

The crumpled envelope dropped out of Sirius's hands as he moved them to her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could. Her hands went into his hair and Sirius heard the softest of sighs escape her as she tried to pull him closer.

And bloody hell, Sirius forgot how good of a kisser she was.

* * *

It felt… amazing. Not snogging _Sirius Black_, but rather just… everything. The closeness of their bodies. The feel of his hair between her fingers. The electrifying feeling of Sirius's lips against hers. It was the perfect kiss, like something out of a movie.

It was then that the two of them reluctantly pulled away from each other. They were still dangerously close, barely a gap between their bodies, and Rachel could still feel and hear Sirius's breathing.

She didn't know how she felt. She knew she should've been so happy he actually wanted a relationship with her. She somehow knew this wasn't just to get in her pants, because she figured that Sirius was smarter than to make the same mistake twice.

But the hurt she felt when he told her that he didn't want a relationship, when he made it clear that he didn't know what he felt, suddenly surfaced. Rachel felt like her limbs were being tugged at by her conscience. She had no idea what to do.

So she looked up at Sirius and simply asked, "Why?"

He looked down and shook his head slightly. Sirius looked back up at her and replied with a simple, "I'm sorry."

And then he turned away and Apparated out of sight.

Rachel simply stood there, dumstruck.

Anger bubbled in her as she suddenly yelled, "Well, what the _bloody hell_ was that, you _twat_?"

She hit the wooden post next to her with her fist and let out a cry of frustration. She turned and leaned her back against it, slowly sliding down to the wooden planks of the porch. She buried her face in her arms and was shocked as a small sob escaped her.

She couldn't possibly be _crying_ over a boy, could she? Rachel didn't cry, and definitely not over _boys_.

She wiped the tears angrily from her face as she lifted her head. That was when she spotted a crumpled envelope on the porch. She picked it up. Her name was written on it in Sirius' familiar, messy scrawl. Rachel stuffed the envelope in her pocket.

In that moment, she honestly didn't care.

* * *

**dun, dun, dun, duuuuun. Numero 16 will be up tomorrow or Sunday :)**

**-Grammar/spelling? (heads up: my chappies usually don't go through editing, so I need your help peeps)  
-Favourite part?  
-When do you think Rachel will open that envelope?**

**Hasta la vista and thanks for reading :3**


	16. There's Something About Dumbles

**A/N: Who is the best and kindest author around? Uh, me. Here's chapter 16 :)**

* * *

"Oh, Merlin," Rachel groaned as she walked into the train compartment and fell in her seat heavily. "When the hell did summer end?"

"Good question," Marlene muttered.

"And, goodness, I feel so _tired_," Rachel said. "It's as if I was never gone."

"Well, on the bright side, it's our last year," Dorcas said. "After this, we're truly free."

"Except for," Rachel started dramatically, "Auror training."

"Yeah, that's why I'm not becoming an Auror," Marlene pointed out.

"Muggle Studies teacher, yeah!" Mary cheered.

Rachel laughed and shook her head. "Hey, where's Lily?"

"Didn't you hear?" Alice asked. Rachel shook her head. "She's Head Girl!"

"Wow, big surprise," Rachel said with a smile. She should've guessed. "And who's Head Boy?"

"James," Alice replied.

"No, seriously," Rachel said. "Who's Head Boy?"

"It's James, Rachel," Marlene said. "Dumbledore's truly lost his sanity."

"Well, I'll say!" Rachel exclaimed. "Oh, this is going to be a terrible year."

It was then that the compartment door was wrenched open to reveal an annoyed Lily with her red hair askew. She squished herself between Rachel and Dorcas and sighed tiredly.

"I _hate_ first years," Lily seethed. "So. Much."

"Head Girl not amounting to what you expected to be?" Rachel asked with a pleased smile on her face. Now she could always say that at least she didn't have to deal with annoying first years when Lily told her she was lazy.

"And it's that much worse that _Potter_ is Head Boy," Lily continued on seething, ignoring Rachel. "How'd that prat become Head Boy, anyway?"

"Doesn't matter," Rachel said. "Because you're bursting my eardrum, so shush and let me sleep."

* * *

Rachel lied on her bed late one night. The back-to-school festivities were rather tiring, but the week that followed was even worse. Rachel couldn't wait to just get some sleep. However, sleep was not her friend that night as she lay in her bed unable to fall into any level of slumber. She had other things troubling her mind.

Rachel sighed as her fingers ran over the parchment of the crumpled envelope in her hands. She could just barely see the outline of the envelope in the darkness of the dormitory, but she knew it was there and felt every crease as her thumb ran over it slowly.

With only a moment's hesitation, Rachel grabbed her wand from her dresser and muttered a quiet "Lumos," to light the tip of her wand. Her name written in Sirius' messy scrawl became visible and Rachel could only wonder what was inside.

Just as she was about to tear open the envelope, however, the door to the dormitory opened harshly. Rachel stuffed the envelope under her pillow and pulled aside the curtains of her four-poster bed. Dorcas came up to her and grabbed the sleeve of Rachel's shirt.

"Rachel, come on, Mary's been missing since dinner," Dorcas hissed. "I think she's in trouble."

"What? How do you know she's in trouble?" Rachel asked, her voice a hushed whisper as the two girls snuck out of the dormitory and the Gryffindor common room.

"I dunno, it's just a feeling," Dorcas muttered in response as they walked quietly through the halls, their lit-up wands guiding the way. "She's been getting a lot of dirty looks from the Slytherins. We all have, really, but Mary's the only one missing."

Rachel swallowed nervously. She definitely _hoped_ that Mary wasn't in any trouble.

It was immediately after that thought that an ear-piercing scream echoed through the halls. Dorcas and Rachel exchanged looks of horror as the screams intensified. The two girls ran after the terrible sound, scared of what they might stumble upon.

And that was when they stumbled upon their worst fear.

Mary was crumpled on the stone floor, her limbs folded into her frail body so she was like a small lump on the ground. She writhed in pain as her assailant held his wand towards her. A cry of pain escaped Mary's mouth and anger surged through Rachel.

Taking aim at Mary's cowardly attacker, Rachel yelled, "Stupefy!" the attacker fell to the ground with a loud thud and in Dorcas's wand light, they were able to identify him.

"Mulciber," Rachel spat venomously. If one thought Malfoy was a disgusting prat, they need only be introduced to Jacob Mulciber.

Rachel looked away from the Slytherin student and quickly approached Mary. The petite blonde's face was tear-streaked and sobs of pain shook her body. Rachel hugged her close.

The rest of the early morning was a blur. Professors came to their aid, Mulciber served some punishment that was most definitely not harsh enough, Mary was taken to the infirmary, and Dorcas and Rachel were sent back to their dormitories.

And, obviously, Rachel couldn't sleep after that.

* * *

"Hola, muchacha!" Emmeline exclaimed as Mary awoke the next day. "And how are you feeling?"

"Definitely not my best," Mary muttered as she sat up in bed. "What on earth _happened_?"

Rachel sighed. "You were attacked last night by Mulciber. It looked pretty bad."

"_Mulciber_?" Mary asked incredulously. She crossed her arms angrily. "What did I do to _that_ twat?"

"You're a Muggle-born," Rachel muttered hatefully.

Mary stared at Rachel. "_That's _why he attacked me?"

Rachel nodded.

"Well, that's pathetic."

"Ah, you're already up!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed when she walked in. "Well, I'm sorry to bring such unfortunate news to you in the morning, but… I'm afraid you were a victim of the Cruciatus Curse, Miss MacDonald."

"_What?_" Rachel exclaimed, shooting up from her seat. "And Mulciber only gets a slap on the wrist?"

"He has been sent to the Ministry of Magic in London but, I'm afraid that nothing will be done," Madame Pomfrey replied sullenly. "We can't even trust the Ministry nowadays."

"Well, that's just splendid isn't it?" Mary muttered angrily.

"Mary, it'll be all right," Rachel replied quietly, squeezing her friend's hand. "He'll get what he deserves."

* * *

"A nice, welcome dinner is _not_ what he deserves."

Mary was seething and angry and Rachel very well noticed. Mulciber truly was let go with a slap on the wrist and now he was back at school, ready to torment some more Muggle-borns. Mary was only displaying anger, but Rachel wasn't stupid. Rachel knew that Mary was scared and, truth be told, so was she. Mulciber was fairly dim, so if he could go around sending Unforgivables in anyone's direction, well, Rachel didn't want to know what someone like Malfoy or Nott could do.

"No, it's not," Rachel replied quietly. An idea suddenly sprang forth. "And I'm sure Dumbledore is fairly aware of that."

"To hell he is—he'd kick all the Slytherin prats out of school if he knew what was going on!" Mary exclaimed angrily.

"Mary, shush, my brain is working," Rachel commanded. It was then that Lily sat down across from Rachel, looking extremely tired.

"Hey there, guys," Lily greeted tiredly. "How're you feeling, Mary?"

"Angry," Mary grumbled in response.

"That's nice," Lily sighed as she leaned on her elbow and picked at the ravioli in front of her.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at the small group of Slytherin minions. "Lily, would you say that you have some sort of acquaintance with Dumbledore."

"I suppose," Lily sighed.

"Good, then you're going to get us an audience with him."

"Yes, all—WHAT?" Lily suddenly shot up. "Are you mad? Why on earth would I do that?"

"Yeesh, he's the headmaster, Lily, not You-Know-Who," Rachel hissed as she twisted spaghetti on her fork. "Don't get your knickers in such a twist."

"_Why_ do you want an audience with Dumbledore?"

"Because I figure the old man is hiding something," Rachel replied, her focus on the Slytherin table steady.

And she was fairly sure she had a vague idea of what that something might be.

* * *

"Can you _believe_ Dumbledore?" Sirius exclaimed to the rest of the Marauders. It was a stormy day after dinner and the four friends were spending the evening inside, not causing trouble for a change. "He just let Mulciber go!"

"Dumbledore didn't do that—the Ministry did," Remus replied.

"Yeah, but he could've expelled the twat," Sirius said angrily. "He's attacking Muggle-borns with the bloody _Cruciatus Curse_."

"And have the Mulcibers plus millions of other pureblood families with Ministry officials breathing down his neck," Remus countered. "Brilliant idea."

"What? Is he scared?" Sirius scoffed in reply. "This is stupid—he could attack you too, you know! Just because you're not pureblood and 'all human'," Sirius scoffed once more. "Those twats should consider themselves lucky. I would've guessed they would have arms growing out their arses by now, what with all the inbreeding."

"Hey, aren't you part of that inbreeding too, mate?" James questioned.

"Shut it, Prongs," Sirius muttered. "I just can't believe that Dumbledore doesn't want to do anything about all of these attacks on Muggles."

"Maybe Dumbledore's just not that aware," Peter suggested glumly.

"Oh, he's aware of it, all right," Sirius said. "I'd question the man's mental health if he wasn't."

"He seemed rather healthy last time I talked to him," James muttered.

And that was when it hit Sirius.

"Merlin, I am such an _idiot_!" Sirius exclaimed as he jumped up.

"And he finally admits it," Remus sighed.

"Oh, shush Moony," Sirius waved his friend off. "James, do you think you could get us a meeting with old Dumbles?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess…" James replied, not really paying attention. Suddenly, he looked up. "Wait, _what_?"

"Thanks, Prongs, you're the best!" Sirius exclaimed happily, running out of the dormitory.

"Well, now you've done it, Prongs," Remus sighed. "You've inspired him to cause trouble."

"Oh, Padfoot doesn't need inspiration," Peter said. "He's a natural when it comes to trouble."

* * *

**Um, yeah. Rachel and Sirius having similar (possibly identical) ideas=not good.**

**-Favourite line?  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-Amelia solemnly swears she will greatly attempt writing longer chapters, okay? Okay.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	17. One Year Anniversary

**A/N: Hello again! If you're wondering why Amelia is pulling chapters out of her ass all of a sudden, it's because she finished school... a week ago. Anyways, here's chapter 17 :)**

* * *

Rachel knocked loudly on the Headmaster's door, Lily in tow (with a noticeable scowl on her face). The door opened and revealed the kind professor. Rachel smiled at him and Lily gave him a greatly apologetic look.

"I suppose soon I'll have to get party snacks, won't I?" the Headmaster noted cheerfully as he welcomed the two girls in. Rachel frowned in confusion… until she saw who was already in the Headmaster's office.

Rachel scowled at Sirius. "I shouldn't be surprised you landed yourself in the Headmaster's office," Rachel commented.

"Actually, I _didn't_ get in trouble this time," Sirius replied smugly.

"Wow, congratulations," Rachel said sarcastically. "One time out of a million."

"Children," Dumbledore warned in a disapproving voice. _I'm not a child_, Rachel thought to herself.

"Anyways, by now, I've assumed you've come to talk to me about the same thing," Dumbledore said.

Rachel scoffed once more. "I doubt that."

"Yeah, you know, I do too," Sirius mumbled.

"Oi, will you two stop being so sour!" James commanded. "What got into the two of you, anyway?" he added, grumbling.

"Well, Miss Fredricks, would you like to go first then?" Dumbledore asked invitingly.

Rachel gave James and Sirius a cautious look before answering Dumbledore, "Well, I'm sure you're aware of what's been going on around the school and even outside of the school in Muggle London and Wizarding London," Rachel began. "I'm having a tough time believing you're simply standing by the sidelines, professor. I want to know if you've developed a way to fight back."

Dumbledore's gaze was steady on Rachel as silence filled the room for a long moment. Sirius was the one to break that silence.

"Well, what do you know," he began. "We did come here for the same reason."

Before Rachel could voice her opinion in a very unladylike manner, Dumbledore had stood up and began speaking, "And what exactly brought on this assumption, Ms. Fredricks?"

Rachel bit her lip nervously. There was no way she was going to sound _mushy_ in front of Sirius. No. Way. However, it seemed like she couldn't avoid the situation. With a sigh, she answered quietly, "Mary is one of my closest friends. It makes me so…" Rachel sighed. She couldn't believe she was saying this _out loud_. "It makes me _scared_ that Mulciber just got let off so easily. Okay? I'm scared."

With a huff, Rachel crossed her arms and looked down at her lap. That was just too embarrassing for words.

* * *

Sirius couldn't believe his ears. He always knew Rachel simply wasn't a person that would talk about her feelings. She just didn't deem the matter important. _Especially_ not negative and inferior feelings. Those were completely unspoken of and everyone around Rachel, including Rachel herself, just assumed there were no negative and inferior feelings within the girl.

But Sirius had heard her words clear as day. Rachel Fredricks was scared. And Sirius only wanted to do one thing in that moment.

Hold her. Just hold her close to him.

But he knew he couldn't because he had fucked up. He fucked up a total of four times (even if the first two were because his friends couldn't shut their mouths and stay out of it) and there was no way she was forgiving him. Sirius wasn't sure he could forgive himself.

But how he wished he could just hold her in that moment. The fact that Sirius knew she _feared_something (and something rational, too) made him fall for her that much more.

This whole feelings thing was getting to his head.

Sirius watched as Dumbledore sat back down at his desk. "In my long life, I have rarely regretted my decisions, but there are a select few that I have regretted. One of them being trying Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean," Dumbledore began. After a pause, he added, "But I will not get into detail of my mistakes. What I learned from these decisions, however, were life-lasting lessons that I would not have learned otherwise. So it is _without_ regret that I share this news with you."

Dumbledore looked over at Sirius and James and softly nodded, a gesture for them to sit. Sirius and James sat down in two empty seats and Dumbledore continued, "There is, in fact, something set up to stop Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers," he paused, as if contemplating if he should continue. "It is called the Order of the Phoenix. The Order is an organization built upon not only stopping Death Eaters, but also to teach people how to stop Death Eaters."

"Great!" Rachel exclaimed suddenly. "When can we join?"

Dumbledore chuckled softly. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, Miss Fredricks."

Rachel frowned in confusion. "Why not?" she asked firmly. "I'm of age; I take full responsibility for all of my choices, and this is my choice."

"But you are still a student," Dumbledore said. "And you are _my _student. I will not purposely put my students in danger."

"So if I join the moment I graduate from Hogwarts, it's better that I'm in danger then because at least I'm not a student?" Rachel questioned angrily. "What does it matter, anyway?"

"Headmaster," Sirius said, standing up. "I think whether we join or not really is our choice. We are, after all, of age."

"And I make the choice of who is admitted," Dumbledore stated. "And I will not allow my students to be put in danger like that. You may be of age, but being _my _students makes you _my_ responsibility."

"Headmaster," Lily said, stepping forward. "You _know_ we are all talented in magical studies. You _know_ how responsible all four of us are. And yet, you refuse to let us help. You wouldn't have to give us much Order work as students, but at least let us be part of this."

Dumbledore stared at Lily, as if he was carefully weighing his words. He sighed. "On one condition: none of your other friends will hear of this until they have graduated."

Sirius ground his teeth together, but only nodded in reply. _That's a lousy condition_, he thought to himself bitterly.

* * *

"Ah, I'd forgotten how amazing these Hogsmeade trips were," Dorcas mused to herself.

Rachel smiled faintly, but gave no reply. She only took a cautious sip of her Firewhiskey.

Her friends didn't notice her odd behaviour. Instead, they continued on happily talking. Rachel couldn't blame them; she wished she could find something _happy_ in her life, especially in those times. The anti-Muggle acts were only getting more and more noticeable. People were… scared..

And, well, so was Rachel. She'd never been scared off anything in her whole life (well, except for the huge Doberman her neighbours had), but now she was scared.

And she was also feeling rather guilty that she couldn't say anything about the Order. But that was another matter completely that Rachel did not want to delve into in that moment.

Dumbledore hadn't given them many tasks. Since James and Lily were Head Girl and Head Boy, they got the job of reporting suspicious behaviour and catching the crooks in the act. The most Rachel had had to do was nose around and dig up some Slytherin secrets. On the bright side, she stopped Nott and a few of his minions from attacking some muggle-borns in the library. That had been somewhat fun.

Rachel suddenly stood up from her stool in the quaint Three Broomsticks and shot her friends a smile. "I think I'm going to go for a stroll."

"Do you want me—?"

"No," Rachel interrupted Lily. "I'll be fine—wand at the ready!" she added jokingly.

Her friends laughed and Rachel left the bar in a hurry. She wandered the cold November streets of Hogsmeade and watched as her boots left detailed footprints in the day-old snow. She walked through the streets of Hogsmeade until she wasn't far from the old Shrieking Shack. She sat on a tree stump and rubbed her bare hands together, trying to warm up a bit.

"A pair of gloves would've been a smart idea, don't you think?"

Rachel quickly spun around at the sound of the voice. _His_ voice. She was only somewhat shocked to find Sirius standing behind her. Rachel surprised herself even as she shifted over and made room for him to sit on the tree stump. Sirius noticed this and sat next to her.

"Do you know what happened a year ago?" Sirius asked.

Rachel frowned in confusion. "Well, I went to Barcelona last summer," she replied slowly. "It was an interesting trip, I suppose."

Surprised filled Rachel as she heard Sirius laugh. She turned to him and asked, "What?"

After calming his laughter, Sirius replied, "A year ago today, I threw a snowball at you and then we snogged," he paused. "It was quite the day."

"Yeah, I remember," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes. "That ended well."

Sirius smirked at her sarcasm. "Of course it did. I'm sure I was all over your dreams afterwards."

Rachel rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. Sirius noticed this and gave her arm a soft punch. Rachel turned towards him, her face set in a glare, as she punched his arm harder. So hard that he fell over and into the snow. Rachel laughed and looked down to see Sirius covered in snow.

"That was rather rude," he noted. Rachel bit her lip as his eyes met his. She supposed Sirius was right: he had somewhat of a lasting effect on her after that day. "Mind helping me up?"

Rachel stood with a sigh and offered her hand to Sirius. Sirius's own hand reached up and grasped hers, but before Rachel could pull Sirius up, he tugged on her arm and Rachel came toppling down into the snow and on top of Sirius. Rachel spat some snow out of her mouth as she leaned on her forearms and glared at Sirius.

"Now _that_ was rude," Rachel said.

Sirius shrugged. "Payback."

Rachel narrowed his eyes at Sirius. "Yeah, you and your pranks."

"Well, I do rather—"

Sirius was cut off, however, by Rachel's lips meeting his.

_Well this is definitely a change of situations_, Sirius thought to himself happily as his hands found Rachel's waist and pulled her close.

Sirius felt Rachel's hands along the base of his neck, her fingers going into his hair. She let out a sigh of content as Sirius pulled her closer. _This_ was what Sirius had wanted to do ever since the day in Dumbledore's office. Just hold her close to him.

Rachel pulled away suddenly and a serious look came up her flushed face. "Now listen here, you twat: you're getting another chance," Rachel said. "Don't screw it up."

Sirius smirked. "I don't plan to."

Rachel's face of seriousness quickly turned into a smile and the two were once more a mess of tangled limbs.

* * *

**Fear not! This isn't the end :) However, I do hope to finish before July 5th because I will be going on summer holiday and I don't want to leave my wonderful readers without a chapter for 6-7 days :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Those that want her to open the letter: you will hate me. Okay? Okay.  
-Predictions?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	18. Tricks and Sweet Nothings

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter! I spent Thursday-Friday at a friend's. Anyways, I'd like to begin by saying a HUGE thank you to the person that added this story to a Community just on June 26. I love you with my whole heart :3 Also, big love to the people who have alerted/favourited this story. I'm glad you all like it! :)**

* * *

Rachel had been engrossed in studying and schoolwork for a whole week. She had only stopped to eat and sleep. Other than that, it had been straight ahead, full on working. She despised it, but it was something that had to be done.

Most of the reason Rachel wanted to do well for her last year was because she wanted to be eligible for Auror training. From the moment she learned about the wizarding world from her father (only a short time after her mother had left), Rachel had dreamt of fighting the 'bad guys' just like in the cartoons she watched. Being an Auror was her dream.

It seemed that her friends, however, were indirectly trying to interfere with that dream.

Rachel looked over to Marlene, Lily, Emmeline, and Dorcas with annoyance. Mary was in the library with Alice, but the four Rachel was studying with hadn't stopped bothering her all day for some reason.

"What is it?" Rachel snapped, clearly annoyed.

Marlene crossed her arms. "Is there something you want to tell us?"

"Yeah," Rachel began. "Shut up so I can study. They're not called Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests for nothing, you know?"

Marlene rolled her eyes. "That's _not_ what I was talking about," she said. "Is there anything that's happening in your life that you want to tell us about?"

"Yeah, there is, actually," Rachel started. "My dad cancelled our trip to France this summer because of all the Death Eater attacks. Bloody annoying."

"Are you kidding me?" Marlene asked with a glare.

"Leave her alone," Lily said. "She thinks she can hide it from us, but we already know."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Rachel exclaimed, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, we're talking about you and Black!" Marlene exclaimed. "You're snogging him, aren't you?"

Rachel frowned. "Yeah, what of it?"

Her friends raised their eyebrows at her.

"_What_?"

"You didn't even tell us!" Lily suddenly exclaimed.

"I didn't?" Rachel asked. She shrugged and turned back to her work. "Slipped my mind, I suppose."

"_Slipped your_—" Marlene paused and took a deep breath. "You're supposed to _tell_ your friends when you're shagging a sex god."

"First of all, we're not shagging," Rachel said. "Second of all I'm not a slag; I'm not going to go around _bragging_ about it."

"Sirius Black isn't shagging," Emmeline stated. "That's new."

"I have more important things to worry about," Rachel muttered, her eyes already back on her work.

She wasn't lying when she said that she had more important things to worry about. There was always the small matter of watching her own back. There had been more and more small attacks on the Muggle-born students and the Slytherins were less than kind to anyone that was against… whatever it was they believed in.

So it was almost definite that she had more important things to worry about.

* * *

Rachel wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in that armchair in the common room studying, but it was a long time. From what she could remember, she had been there the whole day and only now, long past midnight, was she realizing that she would need to go to bed.

Truth be told, Rachel didn't need to bury herself in all of this work. She could easily qualify for Auror training even if she kept going as she had been at the beginning of the school year. But the workload was an excuse to avoid talking or thinking about all of the anti-Muggle things going on.

Rachel's heart skipped two beats and her eyes widened when she felt someone's hands on her shoulder. She calmed down considerably when she realized that someone was Sirius. Rachel was too tired to use the 'I have work' excuse as she felt Sirius's breath on her neck.

"Maybe you should go to bed," Sirius suggested quietly, his breath tickling Rachel's ear. "You've been working all day."

"That I have," Rachel muttered in response. With a sigh, she threw her books in her book bag and reluctantly stood up from the armchair. When she looked up, she noticed Sirius's worried stare. "What?" she asked.

"Are you all right?" he replied.

"Yeah, but usually one doesn't answer a question with a question," Rachel said with a small smirk. She swung her book bag over her shoulder and gave a sigh.

"You're going to work yourself to death," Sirius commented.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Rachel replied. "And even if I do, it's better than letting the Slytherins get me."

"That's stupid, they can't get you," Sirius said. "You're too smart for them, especially if you keep stuffing books up your nose."

Rachel laughed. "See? The studying is _helping_. Calm down."

Rachel turned on her heel and trudged upstairs, where she fell on her bed and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

It must've been well past midnight and Rachel still hadn't left the library. She had removed her Disillusionment Charm the moment Madame Pince left and lit a lantern to review her work for the millionth time and read up on Dark magic. Rachel was researching Dark mostly because she knew this was what she'd be going against after graduation as part of the Order. She wanted to be up to speed.

From her seat at an isolated library table, Rachel heard a soft thud, like a book falling. She quickly looked up and had her hand on her wand. The moment she saw the light of the other person's wand, Rachel stood up and aimed her own wand. She was only slightly surprised when she saw who she was dealing with.

"Severus, Regulus," Rachel greeted curtly. Regulus was the one holding the wand. Rachel and Regulus both kept their wands aimed. Snape stood behind Regulus quietly. "Lovely evening, isn't it?"

"You're not going to talk your way out of this one, Mudblood," Regulus spat.

"Oh, I don't need to," Rachel said calmly and quietly. "You've already failed." Noticing Regulus's gaze slightly falter, Rachel went on. "You see, you had the perfect opportunity when I couldn't see you," Rachel stated. "Not only would you have succeeded, but I would never know who attacked me."

"Just do it, Regulus," Severus hissed to the younger boy. "Are you scared? You heard what Malfoy said."

"Oh, so you're following Malfoy's orders, are you?" Rachel inquired. Regulus's grip tightened. Rachel could tell he was uncertain. "And who exactly are you trying to win over?"

"I don't need to tell you anything," Regulus hissed.

"No, by all means, don't," Rachel said. "Although, I do recommend lowering your wand."

"That's not going to happen," Regulus replied.

"Then you bloody well better do _something_ with it, since you've got it out and all," Rachel spat back.

"Regulus, if you don't do it, I will," Severus hissed to the younger Slytherin.

"She's _mine_. Malfoy told _me_ to do this, not _you_," Regulus replied venomously.

"Snape wouldn't be able to do it anyway, would he, Regulus?" Rachel interrupted. Regulus's head shot back up to focus on Rachel. "Besides, it was Malfoy, of all people, that told _you_ to choose a random 'Mudblood' and hex them. Because he knew you'd be able to do it."

"Not just any Mudblood!" Regulus suddenly exclaimed. "He trusts me more than that!"

"Does he?" Rachel inquired. "I doubt it, Black."

Rachel noticed Severus's eyes narrow at her, as if he was trying to figure out what she was playing at. _Let him be suspicious, I don't care_, Rachel thought to herself. _I've already got Regulus dancing in my palms._

"He didn't just say _any_ Mudblood," Regulus hissed toward Rachel resentfully. "He thinks I'm better than that. He told me to go after you _specifically_."

"Oh, and why's that?" Rachel went on. "Have I got a bounty on my head?"

"Because you're my brother's Mudblood girlfriend," Regulus replied proudly. "Malfoy wants to see how devoted I am to the Dark Lord."

"Are you _stupid_?" Severus hissed towards Regulus. "_Why would you tell her all that_?"

"Because he _is_ stupid," Rachel cut in. "But you're not. I bet Malfoy ordered _you_ to go after Lily, didn't he? You found a way out, am I right?"

"Stop playing games, Fredricks!" Snape exclaimed angrily. He turned to Regulus and ordered once more, "Just do it and _let's leave_."

"I'll stop playing games when you lot stop being twats," Rachel said. With a quick nonverbal spell, the two Slytherins were disarmed and their shoes were glued to the floor. Rachel quickly picked up her bag and stepped up to Regulus.

"You listen here, Black," Rachel said in a threatening voice. "You mess with me _one more time_, you'll wish you were never born. Clear?" She turned to Snape. "That goes for you too, you inconsiderate twat." Rachel turned to leave, but then she paused and turned towards Snape one more time. "You really hurt her, and _no one_ gets away with hurting my friends."

With that final word, Rachel turned and sped out of the library and up to the Gryffindor common room. The seventh year girl decided that she had a little too much action for the night. Sleep would be good.

* * *

Finally, NEWTs had ended. The examinations truly were nastily exhausting and left Rachel feeling like she ran five marathons in a day. Nevertheless, they were truly over and she no longer had to bury her head in her books all day. All that was left now was anxiously waiting for the test results to get owled to her and for that letter from the Ministry accepting her into the Auror program. Rachel had decided that she would much rather change up her life for the next two weeks of waiting so she wouldn't pull her hair out.

One of the things that changed was that she more commonly found herself waking up in Sirius's bed.

Her friends didn't ask her about it and it really didn't need saying. Rachel was rather glad that Dorcas wasn't on her case.

Rachel was also rather happy that it was a Saturday.

It must've been nearly noon when Rachel felt herself slowly slip from the dream world and wake up. The setting she was greeted with was unfamiliar. The bed felt more crowded, but in a close and cozy way. She felt Sirius's arm wrapped tightly around her waist and as he felt her stirring awake, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her cheek.

"Morning," he mumbled into her hair. "And how'd you end up here?"

"Oh, you charmer. I bet you say that to all the women," Rachel replied sarcastically, a smirk visible on her face. She felt Sirius breathe out a laugh.

Sirius pulled Rachel so she was on top of him. Rachel rested her chin on his chest and smiled at him. Rachel gave a sigh, however, as she felt the weight of the last month of school really hit her.

"Something the matter?" Sirius asked.

Rachel turned her gaze to him and gave him a reassuring smile. "No, everything's fine."

Everything _was_ fine. That one encounter with Regulus and Severus was still eating at her though. She hadn't told Sirius and she didn't plan to. He would only go and start a fight with his brother and although the Slytherin prat deserved it, Rachel didn't want to have Sirius dealing with family issues again. Besides, she was alive, unharmed, and perfectly fine. She only hoped that something like that would never happen again.

"Good," Sirius replied with a smile. "Ready for the end-of-the-year game tomorrow?"

The end-of-the-year game. It was one last, completely pointless Quidditch game against Slytherin that didn't count for anything. It was a tradition between the houses to have this one last Quidditch game for only the seventh years, purely to display to people how much Gryffindors and Slytherins truly hated each other. It was after curfew and only the students knew about it. The referees were always a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff. No professors whatsoever.

Truth be told, there was usually blood.

"Should be fun," Rachel said. "I've never actually had a concussion before."

"I'll be on those Slytherins like mad. They're not getting our Seeker," Sirius said.

"Yeah, all right then tough guy. You watch your own back," Rachel replied with a laugh.

And as the two of them tackled each other, Rachel couldn't help but think that things were finally looking up.

* * *

**I hope you all liked it! So, I'm not sure if I'll finish this before I leave for vacation, but I am currently working on a way to get in an update when I'm in the States. Cross your fingers, everybody!**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-What do you think the next big event will be (aside from the Quidditch game, of course)?  
-Favourite line?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	19. A Quidditch Quarrel

**A/N: Hello there! Good news: I get wi-fi _and_ a laptop on vacation. You can imagine I'll be spending the plane ride writing chapter 20 and hopefully posting it in a few days' time (the latest... but I did say hopefully).**

* * *

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Rachel muttered to Alice as they walked onto the Quidditch pitch, cheered by Gryffindors and booed by Slytherins.

"Only a bit," Alice replied. "But then we can regret it together."

Fortunately, only two players on the Gryffindor Quidditch team weren't seventh years and needed to be replaced. Jeremiah Wallace took Fabian Prewett's place as Keeper and Corbin Moores took Edward Jenkins's spot as Beater. The rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was purely seventh year.

"Oi, Lily!" James exclaimed. Rachel and Alice turned to see what he was up to this time. They watched as James sauntered up to Lily, who was sitting in the front stands. She crossed her arms and gave him a sly look. "Can I get a kiss for good luck?" James asked.

"Oh, he's really pushing it," Alice whispered to Rachel. Rachel nodded in agreement.

What happened next, however, probably even surprised Lily.

Rachel watched in shock as the completely composed Lily Evans she knew reached for James's shirt collar and kissed him. James seemed utterly astonished at first, but his broom quickly dropped out of his hand and he cupped Lily's face.

The moment they broke apart, Rachel didn't hesitate to react.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Rachel exclaimed. "_What did I just see_?"

"Good, question, Rachel," James said a little too dreamily for Rachel's liking. "Very good question."

Sirius came up behind James and knocked his friend in the head with his broomstick. James instinctively reached to his head and winced. "Get your head in the game, Prongs," Sirius said. "I'm happy for you and Evans and all and hope that you have dozens of children, but seriously. Focus."

"I have no idea what's happening anymore," Alice stated. She turned on her heel and headed for the center of the pitch.

Rachel laughed at her friends and followed after Alice. The Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch teams assembled on the pitch and the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff referees walked up to the teams. It was a good idea to have one referee from each house because the Ravenclaws tended to side with Slytherin and the Hufflepuffs with Gryffindor.

"All right then, we all know you can't keep it clean, but not too much collateral damage please," the Ravenclaw referee, Jonathan Greggs, began. "We wouldn't want the professors finding out about this."

"Although they can't punish us_ all_, so we're safe," the Hufflepuff, Tristan Colbert, added. Jonathan sent him a glare.

Jonathan and Tristan walked up to the trunk containing the Bludgers, Quaffle, and Snitch in the middle of the field. Tristan lifted a megaphone to his mouth and Jonathan reached down to open the trunk. "Is everyone ready? And… they're off!"

The lid of the trunk sprung open and the game balls began whizzing around. Players chased after them, basically asking for trouble.

Rachel calmly flew around, keeping an eye open for the Snitch. She heard the crowd let out a selective 'ooh' and turned to see Regulus just barely dodge an incoming Bludger. Not long after, a bell rang and cheers are heard through the stands as someone announced that James scored on Malfoy.

Rachel kept flying around somewhat absentmindedly, searching for the Snitch. Being a Seeker required patience and focus, two things Rachel could very easily run out of. Which was why she had just barely noticed the Bludger that whizzed past her head.

Rachel turned around quickly only to see another Bludger heading straight towards her. She swerved to the right and managed to avoid the flying ball. _All right, focus, Rachel_, she thought to herself. _This is just a tad riskier than Quidditch practice._

The remainder of the game was as expected. People occasionally fell off of their brooms, got hit with Bludgers or the Quaffle, and dirty tricks were pulled. Gryffindor and Slytherin were tied at forty points when Rachel spotted the Snitch.

Rachel headed straight for the whizzing golden ball without a moment's hesitation, but she had enough time to realize that Regulus had spotted the Snitch as well. Soon enough, she found herself neck and neck with the Slytherin prat, both Seekers stretching their arms as much as they could to grab the winnings.

Somewhere from the field, Rachel heard Malfoy's unmistakable voice yelling, "Finish her this time!" Rachel knew all too well what he was referring to.

"Think about who you're more scared of, Black," Rachel muttered.

Rachel was surprised he even heard her, let alone replied.

"The Dark Lord," he spat back venomously. To emphasize his point, he swerved his broom and crashed into Rachel, causing her to almost tip off of her own broom. The collective mutters of the crowd alerted Rachel that they had seen what happened.

Rachel quickly balanced herself again and replied, "Who knows then, maybe you'll marry Malfoy."

It was this reply that distracted the Slytherin and gave Rachel the chance to stretch her arm forward just a tad and grasp the Snitch in her fist. She plummeted to the ground and stumbled off of her broom rather ungracefully. Her Quidditch team came and crashed into her happily.

As the Gryffindor team pulled back from the short Seeker, everyone heard Regulus yell, "The Mudblood's mine!"

Everyone turned to see him pull out his wand, but he quickly fell to the ground by Sirius's hand. The crack of Regulus' jaw rung out through the pitch. However, the younger Black was resilient and he quickly stood up, preparing to fight back.

Snape pulled him back before he could throw a punch at Sirius, but Regulus was clawing at Severus's arm. Rachel noticed Sirius was going to jump at Regulus and she ran up and grabbed his arm, giving him a stern look.

"He's your _brother_," Rachel said through her teeth.

"Some brother, then," Sirius replied venomously.

While the two were talking, Regulus broke free of Snape's grip. But instead of launching himself at Sirius, he only stormed up to his brother and pulled up the sleeve of his Quidditch robes.

Rachel gasped and her eyes widened in shock. There, staring up at her eerily, on Regulus's arm was the Dark Mark.

Before anyone could react, Sirius grabbed his brother by the sleeve of his robes and hissed at him, "Are you mad? Why the hell would you do that?"

"He trusts me!" Regulus exclaimed in Sirius's face. "Mother and Father love me! You will never feel the respect I feel."

"Don't you understand what that means?" Sirius asked. His tone implied the stupidity of his younger brother's actions.

"I _know _what it means," Regulus spat. "Mudbloods don't deserve magic."

"_Stop_ saying that word, for fuck's sake, have you gone loony?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Black," Malfoy said in a commanding tone. Both Sirius and Regulus looked at him, Sirius with a look of disgust and Regulus with a look of shock. "I didn't mean the _blood traitor_," Malfoy clarified, sending a disgusted glare towards Sirius. He turned to Regulus with the same glare. "This whole time you were simply _acting_, weren't you? You're an absolute prat. I deserved to get that before you!"

"Are you fucking_ kidding_ me?" Rachel exclaimed. "You're acting as if it's some toy! How about this: _no one_ gets a Dark Mark tattoo. Yes, I quite like that."

"Shut it, Mudblood," Malfoy snapped, stepping forward threateningly.

"Bring it, Blondie," Rachel retorted, stepping closer to the Slytherin.

"I'm afraid the fighting will have to be postponed."

If the students weren't shocked before, they were now.

Everyone, and really _everyone_, turned toward the source of Dumbledore's unmistakably calm voice. The Headmaster himself was standing there, his trademark expression of neutrality pasted on his face.

"However, I am quite disappointed I missed the match," Dumbledore added. And this time, Rachel noted, that hint of cheerfulness was gone from his voice.

* * *

It was no surprise that Sirius, Rachel, James, and Lily were the first ones to find themselves in Dumbledore's office. He paced slowly and silently behind his desk. The four Gryffindors stood opposite him silently, waiting for the Headmaster to speak.

Dumbledore lifted his head to look at the four students and sighed. "The four of you I expected better behavior from," he began sullenly. "However, I must diminish this disappointment. I have more important matters to handle and you were not the only ones at fault. But I did trust the four of you to be more responsible."

"Professor—"

Dumbledore lifted a hand, interrupting James. "You do not need to explain yourself, Mr. Potter," he said. With a wave of his hand, he added, "You are all dismissed."

Sirius, Rachel, James, and Lily quickly exited the Headmaster's office. Once they had rounded a corner and disappeared from the view of the gargoyles at the office entrance, they slowed their paces.

"I've never seen him so angry," Rachel said. "Actually, I've never seen him angry, and it wasn't like he was fuming. Or he didn't seem to be, anyways. He was just silently angry. It's scary."

"I hope he still trusts us… a bit, at least," Lily said. "That can't be _too_ far-fetched, right?"

"I'm pretty sure he has more important things to worry about," Sirius replied bitterly.

Rachel sent him a side-long glance, then turned to Lily and James and gestured to them that it was fine if they left. At the hallway intersection, Lily and James turned and Rachel and Sirius kept walking straight ahead.

"Are you all right?" Rachel asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Sirius replied stonily.

"Sirius, he's your brother, it's fine—"

"I don't care about what he's done," Sirius interrupted.

"Yes, you do," Rachel said. "You don't want him to ruin his life and you'll feel like a failure if he does because you think you were the only one that could stop him. But you _weren't_ the only one that could stop him, Sirius. And you tried your best and when it mattered most, you showed you cared. It's his problem he couldn't see that."

Sirius turned to look at Rachel, his face filled with sadness. "He's gone now. You realize that, right?"

Rachel reached for Sirius's hand and grasped it tightly. "It'll be fine. I know it doesn't seem like that, but it will be."

It surprised Rachel that Sirius stepped forward and enveloped her in a tight hug. It surprised her, but she wasn't disappointed. And as she hugged him back, she couldn't help but realize that Sirius was _not_ 'as dumb as a post' but incredibly smart and caring.

It was comforting to Rachel and she fell for him a little more.

* * *

**So that's that, drama and all! Luckily, I've got a bit of a more humorous and relaxed chapter (possibly with interesting turns) storyline planned for the next chapter :) **

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Too unrealistic?  
-Predictions on what the humour/interesting turns might be?**

**Until next time... stay classy ;)**


	20. Big Commotion in a Small House

**A/N: Sorry for the later than usual chapter, everyone! I've been in Florida these past days and it has been amazing :) Anyways, I got a chance to update this story during the trip, so here you go!**

* * *

"Summer comes and you get rebellious," Sirius stated as he followed Rachel up a set of laminated stairs. "We should've established a relationship earlier."

"I'm fairly sure we did, actually," Rachel replied once she reached the top stairs. She shot Sirius a smirk. "It was... complicated."

Sirius climbed up the last few steps and smirked back. "Getting cheeky, are we?"

Rachel broke into a grin and grabbed Sirius's hand. She dragged him to her bedroom door and pushed it open. "Oh, I'm just getting started," Rachel replied.

"I don't know if I should be worried or excited," Sirius said.

"We've got the house all to ourselves for two and a half hours," Rachel stated with a small smile as she shut the door behind her.

Sirius approached Rachel and placed his hands on her hips, bringing her close to him. "Then I suppose we make good use of it," he said with a small smirk.

Rachel leaned forward and kissed Sirius, her hands going to his neck and pulling the two of them closer. Kissing Sirius never got old and the feeling was always the same. It always felt like small electric shocks were running through her and she loved that he always seemed to smell of petrichor.

And Firewhiskey, but that was a whole different story.

The pair stumbled back slowly. The back of Rachel's legs hit her bed frame and her and Sirius toppled onto the bed, not pulling apart. Slowly, but surely, their kissing was turning into something ardent and needy, hands desperately searching for skin.

And that was when Rachel heard the doorbell downstairs.

"_Shit_," she hissed. Sirius reluctantly pulled away from Rachel and she sat up. At first, she didn't think of her father, but then she remembered the many times he had forgotten his keys. Rachel stood up quickly and ran to the calendar on her wall. "He's working until seven tonight, why is he home already?"

She turned to Sirius and ordered in a hushed voice, "Stay here. And consider expert hiding spots." She paused. "But remember, my dad's a wizard."

The doorbell rang again.

With a frustrated groan, Rachel stormed downstairs to open the door. "Dad!" she exclaimed, certain that he could hear her through the open window. "Why are you—oh."

Once Rachel had actually opened the door, she was rather shocked to see who was standing there.

"M—mom," Rachel said, her voice considerably quieter. "What are you _doing _here?"

Rachel's mother, the very one that had abandoned her, was standing in front of the young witch. Her mother was short with light brown hair and copper eyes, as was Rachel. Sometimes, Rachel hated that she was the spitting image of her mother. Sometimes, she thought it was some sort of sign or foreshadowing.

_But most likely foreshadowing_, Rachel thought to herself a bit bitterly.

"You've grown," her mother stated with a smile.

"Well, there tends to be a huge gap between six years old and eighteen—which I officially am now, in case you've forgotten," Rachel replied. "Oh, and then there's puberty."

"Right, of course," her mother said quietly. "Well, um, do you mind if I come in?"

"I don't know," Rachel answered. "You do whatever you want anyways."

Rachel's mum bit her lip nervously before stepping inside. Rachel slammed the door behind the older woman and leaned against the wall of the hallway, keeping an eye on her mum. The older woman set down her bag and looked at Rachel with a smile.

"Is your father home?" she asked.

"If you only came for him, you might as well leave now," Rachel snapped.

"I didn't only come for your father, I came for the both of you," her mother replies, Rachel's coldness not phasing her.

Rachel sighed. "He's at work. You're two and a half hours early."

The doorbell rang again.

Rachel frowned and briskly walked over to the large oak door. She pulled it open and, for possibly the first time, was peeved to see her dad home early.

"Hey there, Rach," he greeted. "Sorry, I forgot my keys again. Anyways, I'm early! And, boy, am I—oh." Rachel's dad stopped rambling once he saw his ex-wife. "Hello."

Stillness and silence filled the air, only angering Rachel more. With a frustrated groan, she stomped towards the stairs and shouted, "I'm going to be upstairs and pretending none of this ever happened."

"Don't you try to Apparate; I put an anti-Apparition Charm on the house the moment you got your license," her father shouted back.

"Don't worry, I've known about that charm for awhile," Rachel snapped back. "And you put it up when I was thirteen."

Before her dad could reply, Rachel turned and stomped up the stairs. Once she reached her door, she pulled it open harshly and slammed it shut behind her. As a precaution, she took out her wand and locked the door and put a Silencing Charm on it. With a heavy sigh, she leaned her back against the wooden door and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. When she looked up, she saw Sirius on the bed looking very concerned.

"Well, I guess we've got to find you a way out," Rachel stated with a sigh.

"No, I can Apparate," Sirius replied.

"My dad Charmed the house; you'll get splinched," Rachel said monotonously.

She felt Sirius sit next to her and wrap his arm around her. Instinctively, Rachel let her head fall on his shoulder. After a long moment of silence, Sirius asked quietly, "So who was it?"

"My mum," Rachel answered. "And then my dad."

"Wait, your mum?" Sirius repeated incredulously.

"Yeah, I'm just as confused as you are," Rachel said quietly.

Rachel heard a knock at the door and her eyes widened as she stood up quickly. She dragged Sirius up and after her to her closet. She pulled the door open and pushed him in.

"Stay quiet," she told him.

"Rachel, please open the door and remove the Charms," Rachel heard her father say.

She shut the closet door shut, removing the Charms quickly on her way, and pulled open the door. Her mum and dad were standing there. Rachel leaned against the doorframe nonchalantly.

"Well, what is it?" she asked.

"Tone," her father warned, giving her a look that clearly told her to behave. Rachel huffed quietly and looked down at her feet.

"Sorry," she said defiantly. "What is it you want to talk to me about?"

"Your mum and I were—"

"I didn't realize she was my mum," Rachel interrupted.

"Rachel, for Merlin's sake, _behave_," her dad said through his teeth.

"You know what, she only came for you!" Rachel shouted. "So I don't see how this concerns me!"

"Because she's coming back!" her dad shouted, his voice reaching a volume Rachel had never heard from him. She was shocked still, but soon recovered.

Rachel slowly turned her gaze to her mother. "What?" she asked quietly.

"I've realized—"

"You abandon me—abandon _us_—and then you think you can just come back?" Rachel interrupted.

"I know I made a mistake," her mother said desperately.

"I don't bloody care!" Rachel exclaimed. "You just _left_!"

"I was scared!"

"Scared?" Rachel repeated angrily. "I'm your _daughter_! You're supposed to be here for me. You missed twelve years of my life!"

"I want to make it up to you! Please, Rachel," her mum said.

"You can't," Rachel spat. "I waited twelve years for you to come back, but I lost hope a long time ago."

"Rachel, stop this," her dad hissed.

Rachel gaped at her father. "I can't even believe—"

Rachel was cut off by a crash and then a loud thud. She felt her eyes widen and heat rise to her face as she realized what happened, long before she turned towards her closet and saw Sirius sprawled on the floor.

"Bloody brilliant," Rachel muttered.

"What—who—how—_what is going on_?" her father sputtered. Rachel bit her lip nervously and Sirius scrambled up.

"Uh, well, I'm going to go," Sirius muttered.

"Yeah," Rachel added.

Sirius turned to walk out but Rachel's father put his hand up, stopping him. "No, I don't think so," her father said quietly. He turned to Rachel. "What is going on?"

"Erm, we were going out for... ice cream?" Rachel stammered. "With, uh, Lily... and James... yeah."

"Why didn't you at least _tell me_?" her dad asked angrily, quickly deducing what was happening.

"Did you ever _ask_?" Rachel shot back.

"This is ridiculous; since when do you keep secrets?" her father interrogated.

"It slipped my mind to mention it!" Rachel exclaimed.

"_How does this slip your mind_?" her father asked.

Rachel shrugged over exaggeratedly. "I don't know!"

"What do you mean—?" Rachel's father paused and took a deep breath. He turned to Sirius. "Who are you even?"

Before Sirius could answer, Rachel stepped forward, immediately saying, "Dad, come on, we'll talk about it extensively today, I promise, but—"

"Rachel," her dad said with a voice of warning. "Let him answer."

Sirius stepped forward nervously and said quietly, "I'm Sirius... Sirius Black. Gryffindor, not Slytherin. In case you were confused. Just... to clarify. Not to be associated with—"

"I know," Rachel's dad interrupted. He turned to Rachel. "This is the guy that planted doxies in your bed curtains, right?"

"... Possibly..." Rachel answered slowly.

Rachel's father brought his hands up to his temples and sighed tiredly. "I just worked for ten hours," he stated in a tired voice. "I can't even handle any of this."

That was when Rachel's mother stepped forward, placing her hand on Rachel's father's shoulder. "Do you want me to take care of this?" she asked quietly.

Rachel just barely heard her father mutter, "sure," before he walked off with tired steps. Rachel suddenly felt guilty that she had to pile her father with all of that stress just after he got off of work. That evening was supposed to be Chinese takeout night for the two of them, just like any Friday night. And Rachel had surely ruined that.

She looked over at her mother with a sigh. "Well, here's your first test," Rachel said with a slightly annoyed tone. "Your teenage, albeit adult, daughter and her boyfriend that she snuck in."

After a short pause, her mother replied, "I _would_ handle this, but I'm not completely sure what... um, _doxies _are."

"Biting fairies. Tiny, breed like rabbits, positively annoying," Rachel replied. "Terrbile pests, as well. I was chugging antidote for a week after the incident. Granted, that was two years ago."

"Quite a laugh, actually," Sirius muttered amusedly. The smile dropped off of his face when Rachel sent him a glare.

"Uh, well," Rachel's mother stammered. She looked over at Rachel desperately. "Can I talk to you privately?"

Rachel shrugged and follwed her mother out of her bedroom. "What is it?" she asked once the two of them had walked a small way down the hallway.

"Why didn't you tell your father about him?" her mother asked quietly.

"Um, well, first of all, the first year of the whole thing was terribly confusing," Rachel replied. "Second of all, daughters usually tell their mothers these kinds of things."

"Right," her mother replied. "Well, he does seem nice... although I didn't at all understand the Grffin-whatever part."

"Don't worry about it, you'll catch on," Rachel said. The annoyed tone was gone. Somehow, she was learning to deal with her mum. A small part of her thought it was probably that deep down, she knew she loved her mother and there was no way she could stay upset at her _forever_. But Rachel wasn't ready to fully forgive her yet.

Rachel's mother placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder comfortingly and smiled. "I'm so sorry for leaving you. I feel like the worst person in the world," she admitted quietly. "I know I'll never make it up to you, but I hope that I can be here for you for now."

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Rachel looked up quickly and rolled her eyes when she saw her father standing in the doorway of his bedroom. However, a smile still clouded her face and she hugged him tightly when he approached the two of them. He pulled away and smiled at Rachel.

"All right, I suppose I can learn to deal with him," her father said once he noticed the look on Rachel's face. "I just don't understand how you ended up... forget it. We'll discuss it later."

Rachel was about to turn back to her bedroom to get Sirius when a loud bang was heard. The three of them turned toward the noise. Rachel realized it was downstairs and when she looked around the corner and down the stairs, she noticed the door was undamaged, but had flown off the hinges. She pulled out her wand quietly and turned to look at her father, who also pulled out his wand.

Rachel noticed Sirius step out of the room, his wand at the ready. The three of them headed down the stairs to confront the intruders that weer no doubt of the magical world.

Another bang was heard and they were rushing down the stairs.

* * *

**So that's that! Hope you liked it :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Who do you think broke in?  
-Hope the wait wasn't to long :P  
**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	21. Making Bets

**A/N: Hola! Hope you've all been well :) Here's chapter 21.**

* * *

The moment Rachel jumped off the stairs she spotted four men, by the looks of their builds, in black robes and the creepiest masks covering their faces. Rachel quickly took aim and shot a Disarming spell towards the first one she spotted. The wand flew out of his hand and another one fell over from Sirius's Stunning spell.

The one that Rachel disarmed quickly recovered and picked up his wand, quickly taking aim at Rachel. A Stunning spell from her dad hit him square in the chest and the cloaked man fell to the ground.

The other two men left standing threw deadly curses at Sirius, Rachel's dad, and Rachel. All they could do was deflect their spells and hope for the best. Rachel's hopes were diminished even further when the other two men started to come to and grabbed their wands.

Rachel suddenly lunged forward and took aim on one of the intruders. "Incarcerous!" she shouted. The man was bound in rope. He fell to the ground with a loud thud and Rachel pulled her wand back, tightening the ropes.

"Obscuro!" Rachel heard her dad shout, causing a blindfold to appear over another man's eyes. Sirius quickly moved to Stun him.

Sirius turned to one of the two men still uninjured and took aim. "Aguamenti!" he shouted. A jet of water shot from his wand and propelled the man it was aimed at across the room, causing his back and head to slam into a wall and making the man go unconscious. The three turned to the last intruder still standing, but he was no longer where he had been only moments ago.

Rachel turned around quickly, trying to find the cloaked man. She spotted him running up the stairs and Rachel's eyes quickly widened. Her mum was up there. Rachel saw her just around the corner of the top of the staircase, fearfully observing the fight.

Quickly, Rachel took aim to the staircase and shouted, "Glisseo!" The steps of the stairs went flat and the man slid down, tripping and tumbling at the bottom and hitting his head. Before he could get up, Rachel tied the man up using the Incarcerous spell and proceeded to do the same with the ones that were still untied. She turned to look at her dad and her eyes widened when she saw him sitting down on the floor and leaning against a wall, clutching his shoulder.

Rachel ran up to him immediately. "Dad! What happened?" she asked urgently.

"That one there cut me with some odd spell," her dad replied, gesturing to the one that had slipped off the stairs and wincing as he removed his hand. The gash on his shoulder was large and blood was seeping from it at an alarming rate.

"Oh Merlin, this isn't good," Rachel said.

"It's fine, I just need to get to St. Mungo's," her dad replied.

It was then that Rachel heard footsteps on the cobblestone path at the front of her house. She looked up only to see some members of the Order. Among them were Dumbledore, who quickly rushed over to Dr. Fredricks.

"Pardon me for not coming earlier," Dumbledore said, helping up Rachel's father. "It couldn't be helped."

"Nice to see you again, professor," Rachel's dad greeted. "Would it be too much to ask to drop me off at St. Mungo's?"

"No, of course not," Dumbledore replied with a small smile. He looked over at Sirius and Rachel. "You two better come as well."

"What about my mum?" Rachel asked.

Dumbledore gave her a sad look. "Miss Fredricks, you know the rules."

"But she already knows anyways!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Yes, but they won't let her into St. Mungo's under any circumstances," Dumbledore replied.

"But, she's not safe here," Rachel sputtered.

"Professor, there has to be _something_ we can do," Sirius stepped in.

"If she's not going, neither am I," Rachel stated.

It was only then that Rachel noticed Professor McGonagall. The Transfiguration professor stepped forward. "I'll take care of your mother," she told Rachel. "She'll be safe, I promise," the professor added with a smile.

After a small moment's hesitation, Rachel said, "Fine. Let's go then."

Dumbledore restored the stairs to their original state and Rachel's mum quickly ran down the stairs and barreled straight into Rachel, hugging her tightly. Rachel was shocked still, but she slowly wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her back.

Rachel pulled away and smiled at her mum. "You'll be fine, trust me."

Everything afterwards was a complete blur to Rachel. She remembered McGonagall leading her mother away. She remembered Apparating with Dumbledore, her dad, and Sirius. After that it was just people bustling about quickly, shouting orders and working. It was nearly midnight when Rachel found herself sitting in the waiting area of St. Mungo's, Sirius next to her, rubbing her back comfortingly.

Rachel stood up immediately when she spotted the one lone Healer heading towards her, a middle-aged man about her dad's age. "You must be Rachel Fredricks," the man stated. "Your father's fine, but you know how it is with magically-induced injuries, especially the bloody ones. And I suspect a bit of Dark Magic was in action, but it's under control."

"And the Death Eaters?" Rachel asked.

"They're in custody," the Healer replied. "Aurors are interrogating them as we speak."

Rachel let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as the Healer walked off. Sirius stood up and hugged her close to him, although Rachel was beginning to feel better. Relief flooded through her as she realized that, luckily, everything was fine.

"So this has been an interesting day," she heard Sirius whisper. "Definitely not how I expected it to turn out."

"Definitely not what any guy would expect when they're alone in a girl's bedroom," Rachel whispered back jokingly.

The two laughed. The Death Eater experience had definitely been frightening, but as Rachel reflected on the day's events, she was happy with some of the outcomes. And somewhere deep inside, she had the biggest wish of all

That she'd be able to reconcile with her mother again.

* * *

"Erm… is it an ass?" Dorcas guessed.

"What?" Rachel asked, clearly confused by Dorcas's answer.

"You know, a donkey," Dorcas clarified.

The look of incredulity remained on Rachel's face. "No, it is not a _donkey_, Dorcas," Rachel snapped. "How does that look _anything_ like a donkey?"

"Well, what is it then?" Marlene asked, seeming more interested in her nails than what it actually was that Rachel had drawn.

"It's a monkey!" Rachel answered with a smile.

Dorcas, Lily, Marlene, Emmeline, and Mary all paused and sat in silence as they stared at Rachel's drawing. Lily was the first one to talk.

"I'm sorry Rachel, but that is _not_ a monkey," Lily said, as kindly as she could.

"Of _course_ it is," Rachel said. "I should know; I _drew_ it."

"It actually does look like a donkey," Emmeline added, examining the drawing one more time.

"_Exactly_!" Dorcas exclaimed.

Rachel glared at Emmeline. "Thanks, Em."

Emmeline shrugged. "No problem."

The five girls were sitting on Rachel's bed and playing the most Muggle game they could think up: Pictionary. Clearly, Rachel's attempts at drawing were in vain and even Rachel herself admitted that she really couldn't draw as she passed the notepad to Marlene. Alice had also been invited to the little get-together, but, lo and behold, she was busy. To be specific, she was busy planning for her and Frank's wedding.

Frank proposing was truly only a shock to Alice.

Emmeline threw the notepad down in the middle of their small circle once she had finished drawing. "There, have fun guessing that."

"Is it a tire?" Rachel asked.

"I thought it was a ring," Lily admitted.

"It'd be a really thick ring then, wouldn't it?" Marlene added.

"It's not a tire _or_ a ring," Emmeline clarified, irritated.

Dorcas glanced at the drawing. She shrugged. "I don't know."

Emmeline sighed exasperatedly. "It's a _plate_."

"Wow," Marlene said. "It's like you and Rachel are sisters."

Emmeline sent Marlene a glare and passed the notepad to Lily, who giggled at Marlene's observation.

"So, is anyone going to bring up Alice and Frank's sudden engagement?" Rachel said nonchalantly.

"Saw it coming," Dorcas replied.

"It must be so difficult to do all of this marriage stuff during the Wizarding War, though," Lily said.

"They know what they're getting into," Marlene assured. "I hope."

Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "They'll be fine."

"All right, I bet there'll be at least two more marriages before the end of this war," Dorcas said. "If I'm wrong, I'll give you ten galleons or you can dance on my grave."

"I'd say that's a safe bet to make," Rachel said.

"Well, all I know is that _I'm_ not getting married during this ruckus," Marlene stated. "It's a fucking madhouse everywhere. My parents are going insane."

"War's a bitch," Emmeline replied.

"And, uh, what about _you_, Lily?" Mary asked.

Lily looked up blankly. "What?"

"Any… future plans?" Rachel clarified.

"Oh, come on—"

"Lils, they wouldn't be asking if Sirius didn't catch the two of you snogging in a broom closet at the Potters' last week," Marlene interrupted. "We're actually all very eager to see your beautiful children."

"Keep in mind that I was with Sirius when that discovery was made," Rachel added. "Honestly, you got Outstanding in Charms, Lily. Noise control should be fairly simple."

As Lily's face turned beet red, her friends couldn't help but laugh. Lily looked down at the notepad as she replied, "Whether or not James and I _do_ get married, I'm also not particularly excited about the idea of doing that during a war."

"Well, then it's definitely going to be me who gets married," Mary said sarcastically.

Emmeline laughed. "Guys, aren't we forgetting someone?" she asked.

Dorcas turned her attention to Rachel with a sly look on her face. "Yes, we are, aren't we?" Dorcas added.

"Oh please," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes. "Me? _Married_? And are you honestly forgetting that we're talking about Sirius Black?"

"All right, good point," Marlene said. "But have you thought about it at least?"

Rachel shrugged. "Not really," she replied. "Surprisingly enough, it hasn't been my biggest worry."

"Okay, okay," Dorcas started. "So we've clarified what the price is if I'm wrong. Ten galleons each. But if I'm _right_, which I will be, the only fair price will be fifty galleons, ten from each."

"How on earth is that fair?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Because I'll be paying up fifty if I lose," Dorcas said. "Besides, each of you is only losing ten. So that's far better than my situation."

"Fine," Rachel said. "But the marriage has to be someone from the Order."

Dorcas smiled and said, "Deal."

* * *

**That's that. I'll let you take your guesses at future chapters because I am not spilling anything :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Favourite line?  
-What do you think the next chapter will be mainly about?**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	22. Photos Last Longer

**A/N: Sorry this one took so long! I had a massive writer's block and this is why this chapter isn't entirely good... anyways, I hope you like it :)**

* * *

"I told you!" Dorcas exclaimed, shouting to be heard over the loud music and voices.

"You said two, don't be having a victory dance yet," Lily said, sitting down at her friends' table with a huff.

"Yes, but what was that about not getting married during a war, Lily?" Rachel asked mockingly.

Lily glared at her friend. "This is my wedding day, I expect a little more respect," Lily said, faking seriousness. She burst into bouts of laughter immediately after.

Alice sat next to Lily with a huge smile on her face. "_So_, how's married life, Lils?" she exclaimed happily.

Lily crossed her arms and sat back, her face flushed. "Merlin you guys, I've only been married for two hours," she muttered.

"It's exciting!" Dorcas replied. "Only one more person and fifty galleons are mine!"

Lily sent her friend a glare. "Thanks for the wedding wishes, Dorcas," she said sarcastically.

It wasn't completely unbelievable that James and Lily had gotten married. Granted, they were young, but Rachel knew that outsiders wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Married James and Lily and Dating James and Lily. The two were just meant to be and as vomit inducing as that phrase was, Rachel thought it was quite nice that her two friends were able to get on so well.

And romantic phrases aside, Lily looked beautiful. She was wearing an amazing strapless white silk gown. Her hair looked even fierier in comparison to the snow-white material and it seemed that her happiness was infectious. Her face was flushed red and it seemed that joy was the only emotion Lily had that day. Rachel was happy beyond words for her friend.

The friends laughed and joked for a little while longer, until James showed up and asked if he could steal Lily for a dance. Obviously, no one said no.

"So," Dorcas started. "Who do you think is getting married next?"

"Hmm, I'm placing my bets on Mary," Rachel replied. "Seems as the type with suppressed romantic emotions _and_ she's been quite friendly with Benjy Fenwick lately."

"Fenwick… is he the cute one that wears cardigans?" Marlene asked.

"Uh… yeah, I think so," Rachel replied cautiously.

Marlene shrugged. "They'll have beautiful children."

"And what about _you_, Marls?" Dorcas asked pointedly.

"Ugh, I've told you," Marlene said. "Do you not know me?"

"She's like the female version of Sirius," Rachel said.

"Except I'm not dating you," Marlene added.

"Oh, you don't say?" Rachel replied.

Dorcas laughed. "Okay, what about Emmeline, then?"

Dorcas, Marlene, Alice, and Rachel looked over at their friend Emmeline only to see her sitting down and… reading.

"I think the closest thing Em's getting to romance is a Jane Austen novel," Rachel stated.

"A what?" Marlene asked.

"Oh, I heard about those, it's a Muggle thing," Dorcas replied. "They take up most of Lily's bookshelf as well."

"I figured they would," Rachel stated.

"_Hello_ lovely ladies!" Sirius's unmistakable voice echoed and everyone turned around to see him and Remus approaching their table.

"Padfoot is here to seduce all of you," Remus announced sarcastically.

"Namely a certain someone," Sirius added, coming up behind Rachel and wrapping his arms around her.

"That's sweet," Marlene said. "Now excuse me while I go puke."

"Hey, maybe you two will get married next," Emmeline said, not looking up from her book. She grabbed her goblet and held it up. "Cheers!"

Dorcas and Rachel let out rather unflattering snorts of laughter and Emmeline looked at them with a confused look.

"Sorry," she said, returning to her book and taking a swig of whatever it was in her goblet. "Fifth glass of spirits. My mind's a tad boggled."

"And I thought I had a high-alcohol tolerance," Rachel said.

"Fancy a dance?" she heard Sirius whisper. Rachel felt his hands gently on her shoulders and she couldn't help but smile.

Rachel turned to face him with a questioning look on her face. "Since when can you dance?"

"Don't mean to brag, but I have some moves," Sirius replied smugly.

"Okay then," Rachel said, standing up. "You can teach me."

Sirius took Rachel's hand and led her to the dancing area just as a slow song was beginning. Rachel made a disgusted face and Sirius looked over at her and laughed.

"What?" he asked with a laugh.

"Slow dancing," Rachel replied as Sirius pulled her close to him. "So... blech."

"This is shocking," Sirius said sarcastically. "After basically two years of dating, I never figured you to be an anti-romantic. This changes everything."

Rachel laughed. "Okay, and _you're_ ever the romantic, right?"

"Of course," Sirius replied. "I get you chocolates every month."

"Because I yell at you to," Rachel stated. "Lily does the same with James."

Sirius frowned. "I still don't get it what it's with you girls," he said.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Rachel laughed.

Sirius smiled at Rachel. "Do you know that I love you?" he asked, happiness evident in his eyes.

Rachel's eyes widened. "Obviously," she said. Rachel smiled. "I love you too."

Sirius smiled and pulled Rachel close to him as the two slowly danced in circles to the song that was playing. It was those moments that Rachel appreciated, when they were close to each other and there was nothing that could get in the way of that. Rachel always took those kinds of moments to think back and realize how much the two of them had been through and how much they'd grown together.

And it was in those moments that Rachel realized exactly how much she loved Sirius.

* * *

"I'm so happy for you, Marls!" Dorcas exclaimed, coming up and hugging her friend and newlywed. Dorcas pulled away from her and outstretched her hand. "Now pay up."

Marlene's face turned into one of shock. "Come on, Dorcas, I'm at my wedding. I'll pay you later," she said.

Dorcas sighed. "Fine, I'll accept it," she said. Suddenly, Dorcas smiled. "But I can't believe I was actually right—fifty galleons are all mine!"

"All right, calm down and stop being happy for the wrong reasons," Rachel said. "Congrats Marls. I never thought you'd get married."

"Neither did I, to be honest," Marlene replied.

"It took a great Fabian Prewett to make Marlene settle down," Mary said.

"Oh boy, I'm going to dread handing Dorcas ten galleons," Lily muttered.

"What's all this talk about galleons you guys keep going on about?" Alice asked.

"Uh, some time before Lily's wedding and while you were preparing yours, we made a bet on how many more weddings there would be before the end of the war," Dorcas said. "I said two. I won."

"You're _kidding_ me, right?" Alice sighed.

"_Unless_," Rachel suddenly exclaimed. "Someone else gets married and then there were _three_ marriages and you would need to give us our money back."

"Rachel," Marlene said. "You do realize that's not happening, right?"

Rachel nodded lightly. "Yeah, I was being hopeful. I just want my ten galleons back."

"Look," Marlene started. "For me, nothing else maters today. I'm going to go dance with my husband, get drunk, and have a fucking good time. Screw this war!"

Everyone laughed and Marlene left them with a smile. The girl truly had a way with words.

"Leave it to Marlene to brighten our moods and shut us up," Rachel stated.

"That was basically a war speech," Emmeline commented.

"Hey Lily," Rachel whispered to her friend. "Your pet's drunk."

"What—?" Lily's face fell and she rolled her eyes, but a smile seemed to make its way back. "What is James up to this time?"

"Nothing good," Emmeline replied monotonously.

* * *

"Okay, you are—oi, get out of the bloody way!"

Obviously, taking a photo was harder than Dumbledore had anticipated.

It was photo day for the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore had decided that if the Order were a proper group, it would need a group photo. So that was how every member of the Order was currently pushing and shoving to simply get a spot. While the members were magnificent Aurors and fighters, their communication skills seemed to be a little low. Rachel had attempted to take charge of the situation and organize everyone, but that quickly went downhill.

"This is going to hell," Emmeline commented as she came up behind Rachel.

Rachel sighed. "Tell me about it."

"Silence!"

Everyone in the room turned to face Dumbledore with shocked looks. It was nearly never that the Hogwarts Headmaster raised his voice, but it was quite evident that when he did, it got _everyone's_ attention.

"I have taught most of you and I simply need to say that while the majority of you were terrific and brilliant students," Dumbledore began, "you are absolutely _terrible_ at organizing yourselves. I'll propose a new plan: I tell each of you where to stand, and you stand there."

After Dumbledore seized control of the situation, everyone was organized and ready for a photo quite quickly and painlessly. As Dumbledore prepared the camera, Rachel nudged Dorcas, who was standing next to her.

"Now that we're all organized, how long do you think it'll be until someone screws something up?" Rachel whispered.

"Not today, hopefully," Dorcas muttered in reply.

"Why? You have somewhere to be?" Rachel questioned.

Dorcas didn't reply.

Rachel felt her mouth drop open. "Are you shagging someone?" she whispered.

"_Shut up_," Dorcas hissed.

"Get ready!" Dumbledore exclaimed as he ran up to join the group just moments before the camera went off and the photo was taken.

Rachel placed her hand on Dorcas's shoulder and smiled. "Have fun, my friend," she said.

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Rachel smiled and waved goodbye to her friend and then turned in search for Sirius. She quickly found him and he immediately puled her close to him and gave her a small kiss. They pulled apart, arms still wrapped around each other, and Rachel smiled at Sirius.

"I'm going to jinx that moustache off of your face," Rachel muttered to Sirius quietly.

"In your sweet dreams, darling," Sirius replied quietly.

* * *

**Yep, so clearly not my best one. I've had a tough time, in between online courses and such. But I tried to make it at least shine a bit :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Favourite line?  
-Random question: what is your all-time favourite show (if you need to, you can list all of them... I understand)?**

**Hasta la vista :D**


	23. Salsa Discussions

**A/N: Here is the 23rd chapter! Hope you're all enjoying the story :)**

* * *

"Is it too much to ask to pass the salsa?" Rachel asked Marlene from her spot on the floor.

Without ungluing her eyes from the film that was playing on the television, Marlene passed the glass bowl filled with salsa to Rachel who was lying down on the floor. "The telly is so addicting," Marlene said monotonously. "These people's lives are so dramatic."

"Muggle stuff," Dorcas muttered. "All of it addicting."

Mary, Alice, Dorcas, Marlene, Lily, and Rachel had all decided to spend the night at Rachel's house. The night was supposed to be filled with food, dramas, films, and film critique. It was something new for Alice, Dorcas, and Marlene, so Rachel predicted that they wouldn't be getting much sleep, which she was perfectly fine with. She'd rather be awake if any more Death Eaters decided to invade. And, of course, having friends over was also a reason to not talk to her parents.

"I should move out of my parents' house," Rachel said, her mouth full of tortilla chips and salsa.

Lily looked down at her friend. "Does this have anything to do with your mum?" she asked after a pause.

Rachel sighed in attempts to stall her reply for as long as she could. "Sort of," she finally said. "But not only that. I mean, I'm nearly done my Auror training; I scored a job as an Auror in training. It's not much, but I make _some_ money. And I'm an adult."

"Move in with me," Dorcas suggested, her focus still on the television.

"_What_?" Rachel exclaimed, sitting up.

Dorcas gaze shifted to her friend. She shrugged. "Sure, why not?" she asked rhetorically. "I'm thinking of moving out too. If I don't, my parents will kick me out. And I have a half-decent job at Florean Fortescue's. We can split rent."

"I just—" Rachel paused and after a few moments' thought, let out a sigh. "That's actually pretty smart."

"It's settled," Dorcas said, turning her eyes back to the glowing screen. "We'll start looking for flats tomorrow, if you want."

"Splendid," Rachel murmured, more to herself.

"Well, anyways," Lily began. "You said your mum was _part_ of the reason. I thought you two were getting along."

Rachel sighed and sat up again, leaning her back on the couch Marlene, Dorcas, and Alice were sitting on. She knew she should have denied anything to do with her mother when she had a chance. She turned to face Lily next to her. "Well, we are, I suppose," Rachel started.

"But…" Lily coaxed.

"But I know it's been... blimey, nearly a year, and yet it's still a tad uncomfortable," Rachel admitted. "I just don't think dad should have forgiven her so easily. She did, after all, abandon us because we were magic. That's like the Muggle equivalent of what a Death Eater does."

"Maybe they just loved each other that much," Alice offered.

"Oh, come on," Rachel groaned. "I don't need any of that lovey-dovey shit. I want to know why my dad gave in so easily."

"Maybe he was worried she'd get attacked," Mary said. "If he sent her on her way, Death Eaters would've seen her leaving the house and killed her to get to you and your dad."

"So he forgave her for walking out on us so he could protect her?" Rachel repeated.

"Yeah," Alice agreed. "_Out of love_. Read. My. Lips. Fredricks."

Rachel waved her hand dismissively at Alice. "Sounds more likely than the rubbish rolling out of Alice's mouth, but I still don't get it."

"What _I_ don't get is how you're managing to get along with her," Marlene said. "You said yourself that she abandoned you guys."

"Well, granted, things are pretty awkward between the two of us," Rachel admitted. "I still tell her 'good morning' at breakfast and 'arrivederci' when I leave the house, but our relationship doesn't go farther than that. And she's trying to make it go further, but I don't really want it to."

"Make it go further how?" Lily asked.

"Like… she asks me about Sirius," Rachel answered.

"Ooh, big mistake," Mary muttered.

"Yeah, and she's a Muggle, so—"

"She's trying to give you 'The Talk'," Mary interrupted. "Because she missed out on it when you were younger."

Rachel nodded. "Unfortunately."

Marlene blinked. "What the bloody hell is 'The Talk'?"

Rachel turned to face Marlene. "It's, uh, when Muggle parents discuss with their children about, erm, shagging," she replied.

Dorcas snorted unflatteringly. "Bloody hell, that sucks," she said. "I mean, our parents tell us when we're wee things to not go around shagging anyone we want, but it doesn't stick, quite obviously."

"It sure does suck," Mary replied. "My parents found out about Benjy and they've been badgering me non-stop about _everything_. I'm bloody nineteen!"

"Not yet, you aren't," Alice said. "One more week, Mary!" Mary rolled her eyes in reply.

"So what do you tell her when you have to get away?" Marlene asked, going back to Rachel's problems with her mum.

"I tell her I'm going out with Lily and don't have time," Rachel replied.

Lily turned and gaped at Rachel. "You haven't spent one day with me in the past three weeks!" she said accusingly.

Rachel smiled. "I know," she replied. "I've been spending most of my time with Sirius."

"Surprise, surprise," Mary said sarcastically.

"Where have you guys been going?" Lily asked.

Rachel frowned at her. "… To his flat," Rachel replied slowly. "Obviously."

Lily turned to glare at Rachel and Dorcas broke into fits of uncontrollable laughter, quickly followed by Rachel. Soon enough, the two girls were holding their pained sides from all of the laughing they had done. "Merlin, Lily," Rachel said between laughs. "You are the most entertaining friend ever."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Why don't you two go on an _actual date_?" she suggested.

Suddenly, Rachel and Dorcas stopped laughing. They looked at one another and then they both looked at Lily. "That's actually quite brilliant," Rachel said. "And we were actually killing ourselves trying to think of something else to do."

"So next time you lie to your mum about spending time with me, go for a nice lunch with Sirius," Lily said.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll stop using you as an excuse," she said. "Dorcas, you're my new excuse."

"Why me?" the girl in question asked.

"Because we're moving in together, oh bright one," Rachel replied sarcastically.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Lily muttered.

* * *

"So, what place did you have in mind?" Sirius asked as him and Rachel walked out of his apartment building.

"A small sandwich shop I used to go to over summer," Rachel replied. "I don't know if I told you, but after my mum ran off, my dad and I lived in Scotland for a while. This sandwich shop was what I missed most."

"Well, I definitely didn't guess that tidbit about Scotland from your accent," Sirius replied sarcastically, his face forming his trademark smirk.

Rachel glared at him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," she muttered.

They turned into an alley and Rachel took his hand. She Apparated the both of them to a different alley in Muggle London. Hands still joined, they walked out of the filthy alley and Rachel led Sirius to the sandwich shop they were going to spend their 'actual date' at.

A small part of Rachel was excited. Between the two of them, sentimental normal couple activities were rare. Rachel and Sirius were both people that didn't feel the need to go out and eat somewhere for the sake of being known to the public. They were perfectly fine having quite a sleepless night and a breakfast that they would prepare together in the morning, despite the fact that the kitchen got quite messy. But they weren't eating out anywhere fancy and for once, they were away from any Order problems, friend problems, and magical world problems. For that one night, they were complete strangers to the world.

Rachel pushed open the glass door to a small quaint shop with flashing lights in the window that read 'Sally's Sandwiches'. The inside of the shop was just as warm, if not warmer, than the humid heat outside, despite the fact that Rachel could hear loud fans spinning quickly in attempts to cool the place down.

Rachel and Sirius walked up to the register counter and placed their orders. The two waited patiently and once their sandwiches were prepared, Rachel grabbed the bags that the sandwiches had been placed in and walked over to one of the two tables outside, Sirius following behind her. The two of them sat down and unwrapped the sandwiches.

"All right then, moment of truth," Sirius said, pulling out his sandwich. "If I die because of this, it's your fault," he added dramatically.

"I'll take full responsibility," Rachel replied sarcastically. She took a bite out of her own sandwich. "Now eat already."

Sirius bit into his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. He turned to Rachel. "Not bad. Quite the first class sandwich," he said sarcastically.

Rachel kicked his leg playfully and smiled. "Don't be a twat and eat your sandwich," she ordered, a large grin set on her face.

"So, what exactly gave you the epiphany that the two of us should go out on a date?" Sirius questioned.

"Honestly?" Rachel asked. Sirius nodded. "Lily," Rachel replied with a sigh.

Sirius laughed. "You're joking?"

"But you have to admit that it's been quite nice for now," Rachel quickly added.

"Yeah, I suppose this is quite nice," he replied with a smile. "And we still have time to shag."

Rachel rolled her eyes but quickly began laughing. "You are too much for words," she muttered.

"Why thank you," Sirius replied.

The two of them ate their lunches and talked, laughing and simply enjoying themselves. It was a simply blissful day and Rachel could not believe that, somehow, they managed to escape a whole war and forget all of their troubles. And all they had to do was go have lunch at a sandwich shop.

* * *

Rachel felt her back being pressed against a door and Sirius's hands roaming her body, searching for skin. Their kissing was passionate and needy, basically begging for more and more. Rachel felt Sirus's hands on her bare back under her tee shirt, sliding down to her hips, and she couldn't help but let out a moan as her hands moved from his neck to his hair.

When they pulled away briefly, Rachel reached back and turned the doorknob. She shoved the door open with her foot and said, "Bloody hell, let's just get down to it. We don't have all night."

"Perfectly fine by me," Sirius breathed out, a smirk quickly forming on his face.

* * *

**I pretty much felt compelled to write the last part. I feel like you guys have been missing out on the Rachel/Sirius love. If it wasn't almost one in the morning, it might've actually been well-written :P**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Favourite line?  
-I know the pace suddenly sped up, but I don't plan on ending it too quickly, so no worries :)**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	24. Lodging Situations

**A/N: Sorry for the longer than usual wait, everybody! Life's been a bit hectic with some stupid online course and my annoying writer's block, but I'm fighting through it :) Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"It's nice, I suppose," Dorcas said, her eyes moving across all of the surfaces of the small flat.

Dorcas and Rachel were looking at their first flat in person. They had seen plenty in the newspaper, but this was the first one they had visited. It might've been small, but it had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small living room, and an open kitchen. It was definitely sufficient and they wouldn't be getting in each other's way.

As Rachel strolled over to the rusty fire escape, Dorcas asked the person showing them around, a middle-aged man, if they could have a minute. The man agreed and left the apartment. Dorcas walked over to Rachel.

"So?" Dorcas asked.

Rachel turned to face her and smiled. "It's nice," she replied. "And cheap. I think we should go for it."

Dorcas nodded and sighed. "I've been meaning to ask you something," she said, leaning against the wall behind her. "Why on earth aren't you moving in with Sirius?"

Rachel sighed. She had expected this question. "We haven't really reached that… stage yet, I suppose."

"You've been dating for two bloody years," Dorcas muttered.

"Okay, fine, that's not _completely_ why we haven't really approached the topic," Rachel admitted. "It's also my parents…"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, Rachel, you're nineteen!" Dorcas exclaimed. "So what they disagree?"

"I just don't think this is a proper time to get on my dad's case," Rachel said quietly. "I mean, my mom still sees me as a six year-old girl and if she says that I _shouldn't_ move in with Sirius… well, dad's been really keen on keeping her around."

"Considering the times we're in, I don't want to tell you to just do whatever you want," Dorcas started. "But do whatever you want. You're an adult."

Rachel smiled. "Well, anyways, what brought this on?" she asked. "Decided you don't want to live with me anymore?"

Dorcas laughed. "No, of course not!" she answered. "But you and Sirius are like my little project and—"

"Excuse me?" Rachel interrupted, her mouth hanging open.

"Oh come on, I was the one that said you two should get together," Dorcas said dismissively. "Sixth year, Three Broomsticks. I remember it like yesterday. You got piss drunk and snogged him."

Rachel shook her head and waved her hand. "Whatever, continue."

"Well, anyways, if you want to move in with Sirius, then that's fine with me," Dorcas said. "Who's to say I don't have anyone else that can move in with me."

"Well, yeah, I'd love to move in with him," Rachel admitted. "Wait, who exactly can move in with you?"

Dorcas smirked and shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "Do you really think you're the only one that can find a good shag?"

Rachel gaped at her friend. "No way! Who is it?"

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding, silly," she said. "I was talking about Mary, goodness gracious. Although that's not to say I don't have my fair share of relationships." After a pause, Dorcas added, "Look, if you really need to talk to your parents about this, _I'll_ come with you."

"All right, fine, I'll talk to Sirius and we'll see if we can work something out," Rachel said. "But if all else fails, this flat is quite nice."

"And you basically live with Sirius anyways," Dorcas added with a smile.

"Well, yeah, if I go ahead and say that then the conversation with the parents will surely go down smoothly," Rachel replied sarcastically.

* * *

"Wow," Sirius said. "I'd never thought you'd ask."

"Wait," Rachel said as she grabbed the mug of tea Sirius offered her. "You've been thinking about me moving in?"

Sirius sat down on the coffee table in front of the armchair Rachel was sitting on. "Well, yeah," he replied.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Rachel suddenly exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't want you to say 'uh, no thanks' either so what was I supposed to do?" he answered.

Rachel rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, we've figured it out now," she said. "The thing with the parents isn't very figured out though."

"You can still do what you want anyway," Sirius said.

"Well, yeah, I can but—" Rachel sighed and paused. She looked up at Sirius. "I don't want to leave them on a bad note, and certainly not in these times."

"It'll be fine," Sirius said reassuringly. "I'm sure you can use your incredibly persuasive powers to convince them this is a good idea in the end."

Rachel laughed lightly. "Thanks," she said quietly. Suddenly, her face formed a frown. "Wait, was that sarcasm?"

Sirius smirked and leaned forward to kiss Rachel. "Maybe," he replied once they broke apart.

Rachel rolled her eyes once more, but smiled nonetheless. "Well, I have to go home," Rachel said. "Dorcas is meeting me at my place. I'll let you know when the whole moving in matter is resolved."

"Can't wait to have you around all the time," Sirius mused. "It'll be just like usual, except without the Apparating hassle."

"I won't be around that much," Rachel reminded. "I'm not finishing four years of Auror training in two years and a half if I sit on my ass all day. This summer is fully booked on practicum shifts with Mad-Eye."

"Well, they can't completely steal you from me," Sirius added with a smile.

Rachel smiled back. It was unbelievable how lucky she was. Rachel had never been one for relationships, but Sirius definitely made it worth it. Rachel drank the last of her tea as she stood up and discarded the mug in the sink. Just as she turned to leave, she heard an odd noise that seemed to be coming from the hallway outside. Rachel frowned slightly and turned to Sirius, who was taking out his wand. Rachel grabbed her wand as well from her jean pockets and held it firmly.

Another noise was heard, this time a loud thud, followed by hushed and angry whispers. Sirius and Rachel exchanged looks of worry.

Sirius quietly walked over to the door and stood just at the side of the doorframe. Rachel went over to him and silently stretched her body to look through the peephole.

"What do you see?" Sirius whispered.

Rachel shook her head slowly. "I can just barely see someone, but it's distorted," she replied quietly. Rachel quickly moved back and out of the way of the wooden door.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Kabel—I mean, cable company!" a gruff voice from the other side of the door shouted. Another voice hissed angrily.

Sirius gestured towards the living room with a shake of his head and mouthed, "No telly."

_Brilliant_, Rachel thought. _An attack is exactly what I needed to start my day._

That was when the door flew off its hinges and broke into a million pieces of wood. The moment Rachel caught sight of a person strolling in she took aim and threw the most powerful hex she could muster that early in the morning. The person, cloaked in black with his face covered by a Death Eater mask, flew back and crashed into the wall.

Rachel ran over to the intruder and ripped off the mask. She grimaced. _Ugh, Mulciber_. She threw the mask down at his feet and looked over at Sirius to see him intensely dueling with the other man, as it seemed. Rachel took aim at the Death Eater and threw an _Incancerous _spell. The man was bound tightly in ropes, which caused him to lose balance and fall to the ground.

Rachel ran over to Sirius. "You all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, peachy," he replied. "This one put up a fight."

Rachel crouched down and removed the mask. Once she put a name to the face, her eyes widened in shock. She immediately looked over at Sirius.

"I can't believe…" Sirius muttered. The other attacker was his younger brother, Regulus.

"Can't believe _what_?" Regulus spat.

Suddenly, Rachel felt something heavy crash into her and she fell to the ground. She felt the air being knocked out of her lungs and gasped as she tried to reach back and maim her attacker. Before Rachel could push off whom she could only guess was Mulciber, she felt his weight being lifted off her. Rachel heard a thud and looked up to see Sirius binding Mulciber in ropes as well.

"I'll send a Patronus to Mad-Eye," Rachel said. "I think he'll be mighty happy about capturing these two."

"Haven't captured us yet, Fredricks," Mucliber grunted.

Rachel turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "You look pretty captured to me," she said. "By the way, congratulations on the terrible pronunciation."

"I'm not a Mudblood, how am I supposed to know?" Mulciber spat in reply.

"I think you meant 'Muggle', or possibly 'Muggle-born'," Rachel corrected.

"Don't you wanna know why we're here, Sirius?" Regulus suddenly called out.

"His great lordy-ness sent you?" Sirius guessed sarcastically.

"No, this was all me," Regulus replied. "You're a pureblood, and part of the Black family no less. He'll forgive you, Sirius!"

"Then why the bloody hell did you attack me?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Killing the Mudblood would've been a bonus," Regulus answered.

"Well you can drag your ass back to your special Dark Lord and tell him no thanks," Sirius said. "I'm quite happy where I am right now."

"You'll regret that, brother," Regulus warned.

"Wow, that's splendid, really—"

Suddenly, a bang went off and the room was clouded in grey smoke. It entered Rachel's lungs and she felt her eyes water as she tried coughing out the dusty smoke. Rachel felt someone take hold of her and just barely made out Sirius's face as she looked to her side.

And then with a pop, they had Apparated.

* * *

**I think the gears in my head are finally, slowly turning againg, brushing away the rust as ideas flow to me...**

**ANYWAYS.  
-Favourite line?  
-Where do you think Sirius took Rachel?  
-Erm, sorry for the shortness... I'll try and get a longer one in next time :3**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	25. Everyday Life Psychosis

**A/N: Hellooooooooo. I'm back with another chapter! Longer this time, 1900 words :)**

* * *

"Where are we?" was the first thing out of Rachel's mouth once Sirius had Apparated the two of them to safety.

"Your house," he replied.

Rachel turned to gape at him. "Are you _crazy_?"

Sirius's face turned into one of confusion. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"_This_ is not something I want to deal with right now!" Rachel exclaimed. She sighed. "And do you think it'll help the situation if I stroll in and say: 'We just got attacked at Sirius's apartment which is the one I want to move into'?"

"Ooh, I was going to yell at you, but you've had a rough morning," Rachel heard Dorcas say from somewhere behind her.

Rachel turned around quickly and spotted her friend. "Yeah, you could say that," she muttered.

"Well, who attacked you?" Dorcas asked.

"My brother and Mulciber," Sirius replied.

"D'you catch them?" she questioned.

"Oh yeah," Rachel answered easily. "And then they got away," she added quietly.

"You're a brilliant Auror, Rachel," Dorcas praised sarcastically.

"Oi, don't you be making fun of me!" Rachel exclaimed. "We took them down in a jiff, I'll have you know!"

"And you clearly didn't disarm them," Dorcas noted.

"Well, the only one that brought out his wand was Regulus, and I was fairly sure he dropped his wand when he fell…" Rachel recalled.

"Okay, don't worry about it," Dorcas said with a sigh. "The big thing is that you're safe. The other big thing is what the fuck are we supposed to say to your parents."

"Well, when I look back on it, they have no reason to freak out," Rachel said. "Yes, I am their daughter and I just got attacked by Death Eaters, but I am also a grown woman that kicked some Death Eater ass and plans to do so for the rest of her life."

"So either way you're chasing trouble," Sirius commented.

"Very precisely put," Rachel confirmed. "Just don't say that in front of my dad."

"This is the dumbest thing ever," Dorcas muttered. "There's a full-fledged Wizarding War going on around us and we're worrying about what your parents will think if you move in with your boyfriend."

"_What_?"

Rachel's face fell as she whipped her head to see who had spoken. Maybe, although she wasn't entirely sure, it was pure guilt she felt in that moment. She didn't quite understand why she would feel guilt. But Rachel knew one thing. It was going to be bloody difficult to explain the situation to her parents now.

"Well this really isn't how I expected this conversation to go," Rachel muttered to herself.

"Mr. Fredricks, great to see you!" Dorcas exclaimed. "I'm guessing you probably heard that last part and got a head start on the conversation. Good for you!"

"Rachel, explain please," her dad said slowly.

Rachel sighed. "Look, I was thinking of moving out anyway, you know?" she started. Her heart was beating like crazy and her nervousness was increasing dangerously quickly. Rachel paused to try and calm herself. This wasn't as big of a deal as she was making it out to be. "It's just, I'm a grown woman now. I know it's tough to believe but… it's true."

"It is tough to believe," her father said quietly. "It was difficult enough to hear about you moving in with Dorcas but—"

"Dad, please listen to me," Rachel interrupted. "I'm in a great relationship, okay? I have someone I can trust. And this is important to me. I know it sucks, but I can't be six years old for the rest of my life. And this doesn't mean I'm gone from your life forever."

Rachel's dad looked at her, his gaze focused and still distant, as if he was concentrating on many things at once. Slowly, his eyes moved to Sirius and Rachel noticed him letting out a small sigh. "You're a nice bloke," he said to Sirius. He turned back to Rachel. "And you _are_ a grown woman. I can accept that."

"Yes!" Dorcas exclaimed. She turned to Rachel. "I am so totally going to be badgering you every single day from now on!"

"Now, hold on one second."

Rachel smiled when she saw her mother. "Hey Mum, you'll—"

Her mum, however, was not paying attention to Rachel. "Do you honestly think this is a good idea, Tom?" she asked Rachel's dad.

"Wait, what?" Rachel questioned, her happy demeanor quickly disappearing.

"Yeah, I don't quite understand so much myself," Dorcas added, crossing her arms.

With a sigh, Rachel's mum grabbed Tom's arm and led him just a bit farther off. Far enough so that their hushed whispers were out of earshot of Dorcas, Sirius, and Rachel. Rachel looked over at Sirius; worry was beginning to etch itself on her face and reflected onto Sirius's face. She'd be damned if her bloody abandoner of a mother would ruin this.

Rachel was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice when her parents came back to the three of them. Rachel's head shot up and she gave her parents a questioning look.

"You know something, Rachel?" her father started. "Really thinking about this, I don't think it's such a great idea anymore."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked slowly. "Just a second ago you were all for it. What are you talking about?"

A moment of silence came. The only ones brave enough to make a noise where the crickets hiding in the grass. But then her mum stepped forward, a stern look on her face.

"You're not moving in with him," she stated simply.

"I'm sorry, I think you may have misunderstood," Rachel replied venomously. "I was talking to my father."

"Rachel!" her mum gasped.

"I agree with your mum, and that's final," her dad said suddenly.

Rachel paused. She let out a small sigh and stood up straighter. "What if I want to?" she asked quietly.

"Well then you're choosing him over your own parents," her father replied.

Rachel felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop. "W—what?" she stuttered. "Dad, you can't possibly…"

"It's simple, Rachel," her father said.

"But—but you can't tell me what to do!" Rachel exclaimed. She felt hot tears pricking her eyes, but fought to keep them back. "I'm a grown woman and I've nearly got a steady career going. And you can't bloody well make me choose like that!"

"I think it's clear what choice you've made," her dad said quietly. He turned around and walked back to the house, slamming the screen door behind him.

Rachel couldn't stop the tears from flowing out of her eyes. What she'd feared was exactly what had happened. In a time of war when she could loose her loved ones the very next second, she left said loved ones on a terrible note. But suddenly, Rachel's mind dug a little deeper. She frowned slightly as thoughts raced through her mind. _He was fine with me moving in with Sirius_, she thought to herself. _And then… and then… and then he talked to mum._

Rachel looked up and straight at her mother. She felt the tears running down her cheeks and choked out a sob. "How dare you?" she suddenly screamed. "How dare you take what I want away from me and make my father hate me?"

Her mum stormed up to her. "Despite what you think, you are _not_ a grown woman," the older woman hissed. "You are a _child_ and you do not understand these relationships."

"I'm bloody nineteen!" Rachel shouted. "And I've got a fucking better career than you've _ever_ had!"

"Do not _speak _to me like that," her mother said through her teeth. "And _you_ ruined what you and your father had."

"How can you say that?" Rachel asked shockingly. "He was letting me on my own to make my own bloody decisions! He trusted me! And then you talk to him and he makes me fucking _choose_ between the two people I care most! My father would _never_ do that deliberately."

Rachel's mum sucked in a breath and fixed a stony look on her face, setting her eyes on Rachel. "You belong at home," she said slowly, her fixed gaze softening. "At home, where we can take care of you. We're your parents, Rachel, that's what we're supposed to do. You should never leave."

Rachel felt her jaw drop slightly in surprise. She stumbled back slowly, and then quickened her pace as she reached behind her, searching for Sirius's hands. She immediately felt his warm skin meet hers and felt a million times better, but her mind and her gaze were still ultimately focused on her mum.

"You're crazy," she finally breathed out. "Un-fucking-believable. I can't believe you ruined my relationship with one of the few people that actually cared for me because you're too loony to realize that you fucked up big time and missed my whole entire childhood."

"Shut up!" her mum suddenly shrieked. The older woman's eyes widened and she took a step back. "I'm sorry sweetheart," she said quietly.

Rachel looked over at Dorcas and gestured for her to leave. She turned her eyes back to her mother and felt tears at her eyes again. "Please take me away," she whispered to Sirius.

And then they Apparated.

* * *

Rachel was bundled up in a big wool blanket and sitting on the couch in Sirius's living room. She gripped the warm fabric close to her and ground her teeth together nervously. The worst things she could imagine had just happened to her and she had no bloody idea what she was going to do now. People always said prepare for the worst, but no one actually ever did. And it was always so hard to know what the worst could be.

Sirius sat gently next to her and passed her a cup of warm tea. Rachel snuck out one hand from under the blanket and grabbed the heated cup. She took a gentle sip from it and felt Sirius wrap his arm around her and pull her close to him. Rachel immediately melted into him, relishing in the contact.

"You're bloody amazing, you know that?" she whispered to him.

"Thanks for saying that," he replied quietly.

"It's true," she said. "You were an absolute tosser in school, I'll admit, but you seem to not only have changed, but utterly outdone yourself, Sirius. You are the most amazing bloke I've ever known."

"'Course I've changed," he said, looking down at Rachel with a smile. "I changed 'cause of you, love."

"And why would you do that?" Rachel asked quietly.

Rachel suddenly felt Sirius's warm breath on her ear and felt small tingles dance along her fingertips and spine. "Because you mattered a bloody whole lot," he whispered to her.

Rachel turned her head and kissed Sirius. It was one of those special kisses. Not heated and needy like when they've drunk too much Firewhiskey, but passionate and slow, like when… like when you love someone.

Rachel pulled away and let out a shaky breath. She looked up into Sirius's grey eyes and smiled. "Oh, Merlin, I can't believe it," she whispered. "Someone help me, because I think I love you, you prat."

Sirius laughed quietly. "I wouldn't have expected you to admit it any other way," he said jokingly. "Love you too. I fell for you a long time ago, love."

And then they were kissing again. Just for those blissful moments with Sirius, Rachel was able to almost forget. To almost forget how terribly things were going.

* * *

**Already brewing some ideas for next chapter :) Hope you enjoyed this one!**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Realism of the whole situation... it's a bit crazy, I know.  
-For anyone wondering, at this point, Regulus has got just less than a year of his life left (sad, I know)**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	26. Infiltration 101

**A/N: Well, hello! Chapter 26 is here for you...**

* * *

The loud music pulsated in Rachel's ears and it was usually something she minded, but she was feeling much better that evening. Rachel, Sirius, James, and Lily had decided to all go out to a Muggle nightclub. In reality, Lily and Rachel happened to be talking about Muggle stuff and James and Sirius stuck their noses in it so the two girls decided to show them what a good time meant.

Sirius gulped down another shot of whiskey. "This place isn't actually so bad," he commented.

Rachel smirked. "Careful with those, might have more alcohol than you think," she warned. "Stronger than Firewhiskey, some of them."

Lily, who was sitting on the barstool next to Rachel, tapped her friend's shoulder. "James and I are going to dance," she said, practically shouting over the music.

"All right, you two have fun," Rachel replied. "We'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, this was fun," Lily said with a smile. "Managed to escape reality for a moment, didn't we?"

Rachel nodded slightly and Lily and James disappeared into the throng of dancing people. Rachel turned back to Sirius, who was sitting on her other side. "So you want to sit here and get drunk?" she asked.

"Well there's no point in going to dance if all you're going to do is tease me with what I can't have right then and there," Sirius replied.

Rachel laughed. "Good reasoning," she said approvingly.

Rachel ordered a shot for herself and downed it, letting the liquid burn along her throat. She set the small glass down and turned back to Sirius. "So what do you think of Muggle fun?"

"I think Muggles get bored really easily," Sirius replied.

"Got that right," Rachel admitted. "Finding new things to do all the time. It's really getting crazy."

"It was nice though," Sirius added. "Not necessarily the nightclub, but just going out, the four of us. Lily was right. We all needed this escape."

Rachel smiled and put her hand over Sirius's. An escape was, in fact, exactly what they needed. Obviously, they could never completely escape what was going on around them. It always seemed that somehow they would always get attacked by Death Eaters or kept up all night with Order work. However, they could always escape for just a short while. And that short while was always enjoyable.

Rachel turned to Sirius with a smile. "How about we leave this place?" she suggested. "Not much left to do anyways."

* * *

It was always the same tingles, the same euphoria, the same neediness, but it would never get old.

As always, Sirius's kiss seemed to be electrifying, like it was sending little shocks all along her body. And it just made Rachel want more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Rachel felt Sirius's grip on her hips tighten as the space between their bodies nearly disappeared.

Rachel felt her back lean against a wall. She felt Sirius shift his head and slowly kiss along her jawline and down her neck. His hands moved from her hips to the hem of her shirt and then underneath the thin fabric to feel her sticky, sweaty skin. A completely involuntary sigh came out of Rachel's mouth and her hands went from his shoulders to the curls in his hair.

Sirius kissed back up her neck to kiss her again and Rachel could feel her anticipation for his touch. "What happened to wearing skirts?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"What?" Rachel asked in reply, confused.

"You always wore skirts in school," Sirius clarified, his breath hot against her skin. "It made it so much easier."

"I wore skirts because I had to," Rachel answered. "Why do you care anyways? They both come off eventually."

"Just saying it was easier."

"You're bloody unbelievable."

"Don't you know it, love."

* * *

"What time is it?" Sirius grumbled as he heard the curtains open and felt the morning light stream into his flat.

"Six," Rachel replied, frantically running around the bedroom in search for her clothes.

"Six when?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"Oh, six in the evening," Rachel replied sarcastically. "Six in the morning, you twat. And Mad-Eye will have my head if I'm not in his office in twenty minutes."

"You have those practice shifts today?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, and Moody said he had a special case for me," Rachel replied, still running around and looking under every piece of furniture.

"Then why didn't you say so yesterday?" Sirius asked. He smirked. "You know I'll keep you up all night."

Rachel stood up and sent him a small glare. She sighed and went back to her search. "Where the bloody hell are my socks? This is crazy!"

A springing sound came from the kitchen and Rachel suddenly ran out of the room. When she walked back into the bedroom, she had a piece of toast sticking out of her mouth and a mug of hot coffee in her hands.

"And where is my shirt?" she exclaimed.

"To be honest, I don't think you need it, love," Sirius replied.

Rachel stood up with her shirt in her hands. She set down her mug and pulled on the black fabric. She grabbed the toast out of her mouth and turned to Sirius. "For some reason, I don't think Moody would feel the same way," she said thoughtfully. She smiled and leaned across the bed to kiss him. When Rachel pulled away, she stuck the toast back into her mouth and grabbed her coffee. "See you tonight!"

"So I'm completely on my own for the whole day?" Sirius asked.

Rachel shrugged. "Go hang out with James," she suggested.

And with that, she ran out of the room.

* * *

"So basically, we're walking straight into Death Eater territory?" Rachel asked.

"That'd be correct," Moody replied. He paused and looked over at Rachel's shocked face. "No, I'm joking, of course we're not doing that," he added as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We're sort of doing that."

"What do you mean by 'sort of'?" Rachel questioned cautiously.

"Ah, here we are," Moody said, stalling his pace in front of a door. He pushed it open and walked in, Rachel right behind him.

"Moody, this is the disguise room…" Rachel stated, looking around. She looked back at her mentor. "What are we doing in the disguise room?"

"Disguising, of course!" Moody answered, turning back to Rachel with some black robes and a mask in his hands.

Rachel's face fell. "You want me to dress up as a Death Eater and do what exactly?" she asked.

"Well, I'm going to take you to Knockturn Alley and you're going to go in one of the shops famous for Death Eaters and you'll gather information," Moody clarified. "And don't you be worrying, I'll be monitoring you."

"Oh yeah, not worried," Rachel replied unenthusiastically. "This is going to be… great. Really… great."

* * *

Rachel stepped out of the musty dressing room, her left hand balled up into the itchy fabric of her black robes and her right holding the Death Eater mask. _I've got to be completely mad to be doing this_, she thought to herself worriedly. Rachel only hoped that the mission would be as easy as it sounded.

"Put the hood up and the mask on and they won't even know who you are," Moody commented. "You'll be one of them."

"Splendid," Rachel muttered. "How did you know that I wake up every morning pining to be a Death Eater?"

Moody ignored her comment and turned around. "All right, let's get a move on," he grumbled. "Don't suit up now. We won't want to give the Ministry too much of a scare."

Rachel rolled her eyes and followed after the senior Auror. She walked briskly and nervously along the corridors of the Ministry hallway. Her fingers dug into the flesh of her palm nervously. All that was going through Rachel's head was what she would do if she was discovered. _What exactly could I do?_ Rachel wondered to herself. _Beg for mercy? Yeah right._

Rachel squeezed her way into the cramped elevator and grabbed one of the handholds above her head. The elevator zoomed up and down, side to side, only making her queasiness of the mission ahead that much worse. Rachel took a deep breath as she stepped off the elevator and followed after Moody.

Just as they were about to enter a fireplace and Floo to Knockturn Alley, a loud bang was heard and the fireplace before them, along with the rest of the fireplaces, blazed with a bright green fire. Rachel immediately stepped back and put her arm up instinctively.

Rachel heard more bangs and screams and looked up. Black-cloaked figures with masks were shooting spells at every Ministry staff and administration in sight. Rachel frowned as she noted something. She was standing in the middle of the way, a supposed Muggle-born, and no one was attacking her. Suddenly she remembered the Death Eater robes she was wearing.

That was when she felt someone grab her arm. Rachel quickly turned towards the person, but relaxed when she saw it was Moody. "Hide," he ordered. "And put up your hood and mask. Go!"

Scared and unsure of what else to do, Rachel followed the orders she was given and scrambled her way behind one of the fireplaces. She pulled up the hood of her robes and covered her face with the Death Eater mask just as a statue exploded and the remnants flew daringly close to her.

From time to time, Rachel would shoot spells at passing Death Eaters from where she was hiding. She tried to ignore the screams, shouts, and spells coming from just a few feet away as she stayed put in her hiding spot and followed the orders she was given.

And then finally, the sounds stopped. She heard the sound of people running and bodies falling, and then nothing.

Slowly and quietly, Rachel came out of her hiding spot to get a better look at what had happened. The main floor of the Ministry was in ruins. Not a walking Ministry worker was in sight. The ones that had not been killed or injured had run off just moments ago. Death Eaters had invaded the Ministry.

"You there!" Rachel heard a voice shout. She turned towards the voice and spotted a Death Eater walking towards her. Immediately, she panicked, but then remembered that she was disguised and tried to calm herself.

"Yes?" Rachel replied, trying to keep her tone strong and steady.

"Have you seen Goyle?" the Death Eater asked.

"N–no, I believe not," Rachel answered.

"Hmm, never mind then, I'm sure he'll catch up," the Death Eater said. "All right then, into the Floo! Everyone remember what you need to say to get there?"

"Um, sorry sir, but I forgot the exact name of the location," Rachel stated. _Bloody hell, I am not doing what I think I am doing_, Rachel thought to herself frantically.

"You don't need to give a bloody city," another Death Eater replied mockingly. "Just say 'Malfoy Manor', newbie. He loves to have power is all."

"Right," Rachel said with a nervous laugh.

Swiftly, she turned around and entered the fireplace with a handful of Floo Powder. With a deep breath, Rachel threw down the powder and shouted out the location.

* * *

Rachel walked amongst the other Death Eaters quietly and observantly. The most exciting thing in that moment had been walking along the halls to the main lobby where they were supposed to meet the other Death Eaters. Rachel knew they had arrived when she saw the familiar light blond hair of Lucius Malfoy.

"_Finally_ arrived," Malfoy commented displeasingly. "And was the attack as much of a failure as your arrival, Rosier?"

"It was flawlessly executed, in fact," the Death Eater Rachel had first spoken to replied icily.

"Oh good," Malfoy said sarcastically. Suddenly, his gaze focused on Rachel. "You look new."

"She is," Rosier clairifed.

"What's your name?" Malfoy asked Rachel.

Rachel's mind searched for vague Death Eater names that she had seen in the past week but no one had really heard of. "Macnair," she finally replied.

Malfoy suddenly stopped his pacing and his eyes widened. "Repeat that please."

_Shit, was that an Auror?_ "I said, Macnair," Rachel repeated.

"Unbelievable," Malfoy spat. "I'd know that voice anywhere. You've got an intruder, Rosier."

"_What_? Don't be daft, Malfoy!" Rosier exclaimed.

Suddenly, the Death Eater mask was ripped off of Rachel's face and she stepped back instinctively.

"Good Merlin—"

"Stupefy!"

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffie. Can't complain though... it's a longer chapter :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Favourite part?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	27. Invasion Plan

**A/N: Okay, so I left you on a bit of a cliffie last time... so here's the next chapter :3**

* * *

With one sudden movement, Rachel's eyes snapped open and she was pulled out of her consciousness.

The first thing she noticed was that she was tied to a chair. The next few things were her tattered clothes, the small wounds on her skin, and the unbearable ache in her muscles. _Thanks a lot, Mad-Eye_, Rachel thought bitterly. She doubted she'd get much information from the pureblood twats now.

"Someone's awake," the unmistakable voice of Lucius Malfoy noted aloud. Rachel looked up and spotted him in front of her.

Rachel looked around clumsily. "Oh, you meant me," she realized. "I thought you had a demon dog hidden around here. Devil's spawn type of thing."

"Why are you here?" Malfoy asked flatly.

"Getting right down to business, aren't we?" Rachel muttered. She moved her wrists hoping that maybe if she got the ropes loosened she'd be able to do something.

"Do you think your ridiculous friends will save you?" Malfoy questioned bitterly.

"You know, all of these things you're saying are very cliché villain," Rachel noted. "I have to say: it doesn't suit you."

The movement was almost too quick for Rachel's bleary eyes to notice. Malfoy whipped out his wand and sent a stream of fire headed towards her. The flame whipped against her flesh and left the skin on her thigh burning. Rachel winced, but bit down on her tongue. There was no way she was going to give him the benefit of hearing her pain.

"Why did the Order send you?" Malfoy roared.

"You want to know the truth, Goldie Hawn?" Rachel asked fiercely. _Doubt he'll catch on to that reference, pureblood fanatic he is_, Rachel thought to herself. _All the better._ "I was at the Ministry for field training. I drew the short straw and happened to be the target for the day. Dressed up as a Death Eater and was ready to go on my way to the training room until you twats invaded and were stupid enough to mistake me as one of your own."

Okay, well that wasn't completely true. It wasn't a complete lie either. And why the hell did she care if she lied to some Death Eaters?

"We're not twats _or_ stupid," another voice stated.

Rachel turned towards it and saw Rosier. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, Merlin, I didn't mean you, dearie," Rachel replied sarcastically.

"I think you should let the grown-ups take over now, _Lucy_," an unrecognizable voice called out from somewhere behind Rachel. _Ooh, Lucy, I'll have to remember that one_, Rachel noted to herself.

Rachel tried to turn to see who it was, but she was tied too tightly. She looked back at Malfoy and noticed the glaring anger on his face. Whoever it was sure made him angry beyond understanding. The person suddenly came into view in front of her. It was a woman, probably about twenty-eight years old, dressed in a black fancy dress. Her dark long curls were piled onto her head messily and elegantly. A crude smile was on her face as she observed Rachel.

"Well, she's got a pretty face," the woman sighed. "But so scrawny…"

"And who the hell are you?" Rachel asked rudely.

The woman laughed, a sharp cackle. "She's _feisty_," she said. "I see why he likes her so much. If only she wasn't a Mudblood."

"Oh please, you're all so _boring_," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes. "It's always the same word with all of you. Can you be a bit creative? It's getting rather old."

"And she clearly doesn't know when to shut her mouth," the woman continued. "But that's my idiot cousin for you. Always picking the less bright ones."

Before Rachel could even voice her disbelief that this madwoman was Sirius's cousin, said madwoman had her wand out and aimed at Rachel. Fear struck through Rachel like never before. Suddenly, she felt a searing pain course through her body. It felt like her blood was boiling inside of her and her muscles were trying to rip from her body. No matter how much she tried to hold it in, it was only a matter of time before a scream of pain escaped Rachel's mouth. She felt tears at her eyes but pushed them back.

"Ooh, and strong too," the woman taunted.

"I think we should just toss her in the cellar now, Bellatrix," Malfoy said through his teeth.

"But I haven't finished playing with my food," the woman whined.

"No wonder the two of you are related," Rachel muttered. "Absolute psychos."

The pain hit her again. It was nothing like she had ever experienced before and in that instant, for only a short second, Rachel just wished she could curl up and die to get away from it. The pain left her again and she slumped over with a heavy sigh. Her muscles were suddenly incredibly weakened and she could barely lift a finger.

"You can take her down now," she heard Bellatrix say. "I got bored quite easily this time."

* * *

"Okay, you have five seconds to tell me you're just joking around and that she's completely safe," Sirius threatened.

"She's not gone but she's not safe," Moody repeated.

Sirius felt his teeth grounding together. He stood up suddenly, grabbing his wand from the coffee table, and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" James called out, stopping Sirius.

"I'm going to save her arse, obviously," Sirius replied, turning to look at James.

"Look, we'll get her, but a team of us will go," James suggested, standing up and walking over to Sirius. "You're one guy and we don't know what to expect."

Sirius paused and regarded James, his mind processing what his friend had suggested. He turned his attention to Moody. "I swear to Merlin that if she isn't safe…" he trailed off. "Doesn't matter," Sirius concluded. "Let's call an Order meeting."

* * *

"All right, so if she's not dead already, where would they be keeping her?" Dorcas asked.

Sirius glared at her. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it might be the newer Death Eaters taking care of this," he said. "They like to go big to impress You-Know-Who."

Sirius and James had arranged their own little team to handle Rachel's rescue. Remus, Peter, Dorcas, Mary, Marlene, Lily, Alice, and Frank had all come over to Sirius's flat and immediately started strategizing on how they could save her.

"So that leaves what?" Mary asked. "About twenty, gigantic estates?"

"Not exactly," Lily answered. "Wouldn't the bigger families be in charge of all of this?"

"Right," Sirius confirmed. "So that leaves two."

"Two?" James asked. "And you want us to raid both?"

"Ah, no, because it's technically one," Sirius replied. "The Lestrange Estates and Malfoy Manor. However, the Lestranges and the Malfoys are related by marriage now and the Lestranges have been Death Eaters for awhile now, while Malfoy …"

"He was in our year," Marlene finished. "So Malfoy Manor, eh? Still leaves a gigantic manor."

"Yeah, how do we downsize that?" Alice thought aloud. "I mean, there's quite a few of us, but we'll get caught pretty easily if we're running around the whole place trying to find her."

"Well, from what I remember, the Malfoy Manor has quite a large dungeon," Sirius remarked. "Cellar, if you will. They're other keeping her there and waiting for further orders or…" Sirius trailed off.

"Or what?" Remus asked.

"Or Bellatrix is playing with her food," Sirius finished quietly. His cousin was simply too easy to predict. "Anyways, there's a direct passage from where she would be if she was in Bellatrix's hands and the cellar, so it makes everything quite a lot easier."

"Well, there's ten of us and two locations," Frank started. "We could split into groups of five and go from there."

"That could work," Sirius said. "The first group to go in will go the hall where they'll most likely be. If Rachel's not there, distract them and we'll sneak into the cellar. If she is, we'll come in and help out."

"I'll be in the first group," Dorcas said.

"Me too," Alice agreed. "They won't know what hit them."

"I'm coming to then," Frank said.

"I'll come along as well then," Remus joined.

"Count me in," Peter said.

"And that leaves the five of us," James said, looking around at Dorcas, Lily, Marlene, and Sirius.

"All right, everyone ready?" Sirius asked. "The first group will go into the main hall. As far as I know, the only anti-Apparition charms are on the cellar. It's hard to cast a spell powerful enough for a place that huge. So you can Apparate right to the main entrance and go from there."

"How do we tell you if she's there or not?" Marlene asked.

"The spell you use," Lily suggested. "We'll keep an eye out and try to get a view of you guys. I'm sure there's somewhere we can see a flash of light. If it's Expelliarmus, we know she's not there. If it's Stupefy, we'll come in and help out."

"Pretty straight forward," Dorcas said. "Everyone fine with that?"

"Sounds good to me," Alice said. "Now let's go save that fluffy ball of stubbornness. I miss her already."

* * *

**YEAH SORRY ABOUT THAT ENDING.**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Do any of my wonderful readers watch Fullmetal Alchemist? (just out of curiosity)  
-How do you think the rescue will go?**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	28. No Big Fuss

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait guys! It's been a crazy week and I barely had time to sit down for a half an hour straight and just write... but it's here now... please don't kill me D:**

* * *

"Can you see anything?" James asked quietly.

"I can just barely see the entrance to the hall," Sirius replied. "Let's hope it's enough."

Sirius, James, Mary, Lily, and Marlene were hiding out behind a small hedge just outside the entrance of the manor. From their spot, they could just barely see the lobby Sirius had spoken of. Suddenly, they saw some blurred forms enter the room. After a few moments, there was a flash of colour from someone's wand.

"Looked like Expelliarmus," Lily noted. "Then I guess she's in the cellars."

"All right, Disillusionment Charms on and Silencing Charms on your shoes," Sirius ordered.

"I hate to suggest it," Marlene started, "but we're going to have to hold hands if we don't want to lose each other or if we need to Apparate out of there quickly."

"Marls, did you ever think about becoming an Auror?" Mary asked.

Marlene shrugged. "Too much work," she replied.

"All right, let's just get going before it's too late," Sirius said.

The five of them set their Charms and grabbed hold of each other's hands. Quietly and carefully, they managed to sneak into the front hall of the manor. They quickly made their way to the hall where the fighting was going on and Sirius led them to the entrance of the cellar.

Once inside, they took off their charms and looked around the grimy dungeons for Rachel. Seeing as she was the only moving object in the dimly lit room, she was pretty easy to spot. Rachel was sitting on the concrete floor, her back against the dirty wall and her wrists chained. When she heard her friends coming in, she looked up immediately.

"Merlin, what are you lot doing here?" she asked, standing up.

"Saving your arse, of course!" Marlene replied.

Lily unlocked the cell door and Sirius was the first to bolt in, breaking the chains restricting Rachel.

"Come one, the rest of us are upstairs," Sirius said.

"Can't believe you guys actually came," Rachel wondered aloud.

"What? You think this guy would've sat around waiting for the, erm, senior officers to save you?" James replied, gesturing to Sirius.

"You think we would've let him?" Lily added with a smirk.

"Let's _go_!" Mary exclaimed.

"Hands!" Lily ordered as they ran up the stairs. "We'll have to Apparate as soon as we can."

The six of them ran up the stone steps as quickly as they could. The moment they got upstairs, they spotted Dorcas, Alice, Frank, Remus, and Peter dueling with Malfoy, Bellatrix, and a blonde-haired woman Rachel could only guess was Narcissa Malfoy.

Dorcas spotted them immediately and backed up to alert the others. They joined hands and seemed to be about to Apparate. Rachel felt a small, tiny, surge of happiness go through her.

And that was when a spell hit Dorcas.

The bright blue light hit her shoulder and she stumbled back and fell. Rachel stepped forward, but she felt Lily grab her arm.

"Shit," she heard Sirius mutter.

"_Ow!_" Dorcas exclaimed, clinging onto her shoulder. Blood was seeping through her shirt. "What the bloody hell did you throw at me?"

"Doesn't matter because I _missed_," Bellatrix replied. "I was aiming for your head."

"Oh, boo-hoo," Dorcas said mockingly, getting up shakily. "You wanna try again?"

"I'm thinking of a _different_ target," Bellatrix answered, turning around to face Rachel. Narcissa and Lucius turned around as well.

Rachel nodded lightly. "I think I preferred the cellars," she finally said.

"Cowering in a corner, _mudblood_?" Bellatrix spat.

"Shut it, Bellatrix," Sirius said through his teeth.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't tell _me_ what to do," she hissed.

"Thanks for the completely unnecessary small talk," James started, his tone quick, "but we really should be going."

Malfoy scoffed. "You must be idiots to think that you're actually going to leave this place," he said.

"Well, the way I see it, and mistake me if I'm wrong, there are three of you," Sirius started, "and eleven of us."

"Ten," Bellatrix corrected. "Someone doesn't have her wand," she added with a smirk at Rachel.

"That's all right," Rachel replied. "In case you don't remember, I'm a Muggle-born. I don't need a wand to fight."

Bellatrix laughed loudly, an unearthly cackle in Rachel's opinion. But it sure had its effect. For a short second, Rachel honestly felt nervous and scared. There was only so much she'd be able to do once Bellatrix got her under the Cruciatus Curse.

But then everything looked up when a loud pop was heard.

The three Slytherin alumni turned around quickly only to find that the five people behind them were gone. Rachel, Sirius, James, Lily, Mary, and Marlene took their opportunity then to Apparate as well.

* * *

"Well, that was fun," Dorcas said once Rachel and her group had Apparated back to hers and Sirius's flat. "But I really don't plan on doing it ever again so don't get into any trouble or I'm going to kill you myself."

"Yeah, I got that," Rachel muttered in reply.

"Both of you need to go to St. Mungo's," Alice said as she tried to stop the bleeding from Dorcas's wound and observed Rachel. "I can't stop this bleeding myself," she said, turning back to Dorcas.

"Then why didn't we just Apparate to St. Mungo's?" Dorcas exclaimed.

"Because I didn't know it was this bad then," Alice muttered in reply.

"All right, Alice and I will take them to St. Mungo's," Mary said. "I should have quicker access seeing as I'm doing my Healer training right now. We'll call you when things clear up."

Mary grabbed hold of Rachel and they both suddenly Apparated.

* * *

"Hey, would you look who it is!" Dorcas suddenly exclaimed, causing the nurse tending to her wound to jump back. "The mastermind of the invasion plan himself."

Rachel looked up and smiled when she saw Sirius. She was about to jump off of the table she was sitting on, but the she remembered a nurse was bandaging her arm, so maybe that wouldn't be the brightest idea she had.

"Although, to be honest, we improvised the whole second half and me getting injured was never part of the plan," Dorcas continued. She turned and gave Sirius a pointed look. "Or at least I hope it wasn't."

Sirius shrugged. "Guess you'll never know," he replied. He turned to Rachel. "And how are you?"

"Pretty okay, maybe a little shocked though," Rachel answered. "_But_, I don't have anything major and I'm ready for training tomorrow!"

Sirius's face fell and he gave Rachel a stern look.

Rachel glared at him. "Don't give me that look, Sirius," she said. "I'm fine, okay?"

"Yeah, you're fine," Sirius said sarcastically. "It's not like you just got kidnapped and tortured by Death Eaters or anything."

"First of all, they didn't kidnap me. I walked in and got discovered," Rachel corrected. "Second of all, _I'm fine stop fussing over me_."

Sirius sighed exasperatedly. "Two days," he said. "Just two days at home. Please."

"He's right, Rachel," Dorcas said. "You could collapse or, you know, they could come back for revenge. Maybe it's for the best to rest and lay low for a couple of days."

Rachel sighed dejectedly. "_Fine_," she replied. "But only two days."

"Fine by me," Sirius said with a smile.

* * *

"Here you go," Sirius said, passing Rachel a mug of tea. He sat next to her on the couch and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, for crying out loud, I'm not handicap," Rachel scowled. "I can get my own tea."

"Come on, I have two days with you all to myself and you've been through hell," Sirius said. "Is it so bad that I just want to take care of you?"

Rachel sighed. "I just hate people fussing over me and making a huge deal out of nothing," she explained. "Yeah, I got tortured, but I'm over it. Crying and complaining won't change what happened."

"Well, excuse me if I care about you," Sirius replied sarcastically.

Rachel laughed. "You want to know what else I hate?" she asked.

"What?" Sirius replied.

"I hate sitting around and doing nothing," Rachel answered with a glare.

"Well, then…" Sirius trailed off and looked around the living room. His eyes landed on the telly Rachel had insisted on buying. He pointed at it. "That. You haven't shown me how it works or what it does."

Rachel looked at him oddly. "You're not joking, are you?" she asked after a long pause.

"No!" Sirius answered. "Now you wanted to do something, so hop to!"

Rachel laughed and got up to get the remote. She sat back down next to Sirius and turned on the television by pressing the power button the remote. She flipped through a few channels until she landed on a show she used to watch with her dad. _Merlin… Dad. I wonder how he is?_ Rachel wondered to herself sadly.

"There," Rachel said, throwing the remote lightly at Sirius. "It's not rocket science."

Sirius frowned. "So what's it supposed to do?" he asked. "And what the bloody hell is rocket science?"

Rachel shrugged. "It just shows a film or a show and you sit down and watch it. They're like stories you can watch," she explained. Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "It's a Muggle expression, forget it."

"So we just sit here and basically watch a story?" Sirius clarified.

"Yup," Rachel replied, fixing her gaze on the telly.

"And what's this story about?" Sirius asked.

"It's a show—meaning that there's a bunch of episodes on the same story, like chapters—about these doctors in the army," Rachel explained. "And it's a comedy as well."

"And for how long does the average Muggle watch these shows and films?" Sirius asked.

"Depends," Rachel replied. "It's easy to get bored and lose attention as well."

"What will we ever do with the rest of the day?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

Rachel turned to face him, smiling. "I can think of a few things," she answered.

Sirius leaned forward and kissed Rachel. It was one of those kisses, just like always, that got her pulse racing and her mind going crazy. Rachel wondered why exactly kissing him always felt so bloody brilliant, but she always just stopped thinking after awhile.

After all, there were more pressing matters at hand. Like the large amount of clothes separating them.

Suddenly, Rachel pulled away as she realized something. "_Shit_," she hissed. "I don't have a wand! What the bloody hell am I going to do?" An Auror without a wand... practically useless.

Sirius laughed. "We'll go to Ollivander's tomorrow," he suggested. "I'm sure he can figure something out for you. But for now, I believe we had other business to attend to."

Rachel smiled. "I believe you're right."

* * *

**Hehehe... yeah, sorry again for the late update :(**

**-1289345847384938 'I love you' points to whoever can guess what show I was talking about. It's old, so dig deep.  
-Grammar/spelling?  
-Please don't be too disappointed in me... I'm making a puppy dog face, if that helps :D**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	29. Trouble Boys

**A/N: All right, here's chapter 29... geez, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Anyways, I tried my best with this one, but I'm going back to school in less than a week and silently having several nervous breakdowns, so I could only do so well :3**

* * *

Rachel pointed the unfamiliar wand in her hand at a bare wall of Ollivander's wand shop. An explosion followed and once the dust had cleared, the three people in the room stared ruefully at the large, gaping hole in the cream-coloured wall.

Rachel winced and looked over at Ollivander. "Once I get a wand, I swear I'll fix this all up," she promised with a small shrug. There was only so much she could do.

"No, no, there's only so much that can be helped," Ollivander said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Usually, it's fairly simple to use another's wand if you're an educated wizard, but these wands are without owners, so the job is that much more difficult."

The old wizard disappeared into a small hallway and Rachel looked over at Sirius with a sigh. Five bloody wands and every single one of them wreaked havoc on the quaint little shop. Rachel was pretty much ready to call it quits and spend the whole day sulking with a tub of ice cream.

"Oh, come on," Sirius said with a small smile. "Don't give me that look. There can only be so many wands that don't agree with you and your stubbornness."

Rachel scoffed and crossed her arms. "Don't jinx it," she grumbled.

Ollivander came back out with another dusty and tattered box in his hands. Rachel took the wand and pointed it a boxed wand. She muttered a simple Summoning Charm, knowing she'd have to go easy at first. Fortunately for her, the box easily floated towards her and neatly landed into her free hand. She looked up and gave Ollivander a grateful smile.

"I think we have a winner!" she declared happily.

"Amazing!" Ollivander cheered, heading over to his register. "Now, it will feel a bit funny at first, but all wands take a bit of getting used to. It'll be especially more easy since you are already an experienced witch!"

"Hopefully, I won't be stuck with it for long," Rachel admitted. "I'm crossing my fingers that I'll manage to get my wand back."

The old wandmaker gave Rachel a sad look. "It would be rather foolish of someone to arm their enemy, don't you think, Miss Fredricks?" Ollivander said quietly.

"Who said they were going to give it back willingly?" Rachel questioned, only slightly jokingly.

Ollivander laughed lightly. "Nevertheless, it was very nice seeing you," he said cheerfully and looked over at Sirius. "You too, Mister Black!"

Sirius smiled. "Nice seeing you again too, Ollivander," he said.

Once Rachel had fixed the torrential mess she created in the shop, her and Sirius said goodbye to Ollivander and exited the small shop into the cobblestoned streets of Diagon Alley. Sirius let his arm rest lazily on Rachel's shoulders as they departed from the shop.

"He's quite nice, Ollivander," Rachel said. "I always liked him."

"Me too," Sirius admitted. "Always seemed a decent fellow."

"Let's go to Florean's and get some ice cream," Rachel suggested, her gaze fixed on the small, blue and pink ice cream shop.

"And celebrate you getting a new wand," Sirius added with a smile.

"_And_, me going back to work tomorrow," Rachel said.

Sirius rolled his eyes, but the smile remained on his face. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

Rachel laughed lightly as the two of them entered the ice cream parlour. Once they had ordered their ice cream, the pair sat down at a small booth with their heaping bowls of dessert.

"Just so you know," Sirius started with fake seriousness, "if you get kidnapped again, I'm not coming to save you."

Rachel feigned a look of hurt on her face. "And here I thought what we had was special!" she said dramatically. The two began laughing only a few seconds later.

"Remember when you said you wanted to go into the Muggle world once you were done school?" Sirius asked after their laughter ceased.

Rachel nodded lightly. "That followed the plan, didn't it?" she replied sarcastically. "To be honest, I think at one point I realized that there was no way I could completely alienate myself from the Wizarding world because I was a part of it."

"So you just let it devour you whole," Sirius said with a smirk.

Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled. "Guess I did," she replied. "Not that I regret it. The way it seems now is that I have more of a home here than in the Muggle world."

"And besides," Sirius added. "You couldn't escape even if you wanted. Either Dorcas or Lily would be the first to clog you in the head and tie you up, refusing to let you go for the rest of eternity."

"Wow," Rachel said with a small laugh. "That, surprisingly, is an understatement."

They laughed again, enjoying their time together. It was hard nowadays to find time to spend together. And Rachel would never admit it, but she was happy she skipped those two days of work because she got to spend them with Sirius.

* * *

"_Are you two stark-raving mad?_" Rachel shouted angrily.

"Unbelievable!" Lily huffed. "Do you know what could've happened?"

"We could've died," Sirius replied with fake seriousness. Rachel turned and glared at him.

Just when Rachel and Lily thought that James and Sirius might have matured since their graduation from Hogwarts, they were blatantly proven wrong. The pair thought it would be fun to go on a bit of a motorcycle joy ride through London. In Rachel's opinion, the fun stopped when they started getting chased by the cops and when the Death Eaters showed up.

So this is how Rachel and Lily found themselves at Lily and James's house, scolding the two supposed mature men in front of them. And only two weeks after Rachel started her first official Auror job too.

"You could've been killed by Death Eaters," Rachel began, "you could've been arrested by the Muggle police, you could've been arrested by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and you could have revealed the whole Wizarding world to prying eyes for Merlin's sake!"

"But we didn't," James said helpfully.

Lily shook her head. "I don't understand how you two can be reckless in times like these," she said. "I'm not saying don't have fun, but that was far too reckless."

"Okay, well, we're sorry," Sirius said. "Right, Prongs?"

"Right," James confirmed.

"Yeah, well, to hell you are," Rachel grumbled. "No motorcycles for a month. If I so much as catch you glancing at a motorcycle these next thirty days, you will see hell."

"Aw, come on!" Sirius exclaimed. "We won't do it again. We've learned our lesson!"

"_No motorcycles_," Lily said firmly.

"You guys aren't our mothers, come on," James said.

"No way!" Rachel exclaimed. "You are not talking your way out of this one. You've got to face the music."

Sirius sighed heavily. "_Fine_," he grumbled. "No motorcycles."

James shrugged disappointedly and leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. With a tired sigh, Rachel sat down on an armchair and Lily on a rocking chair in her living room.

"Do you guys know what Death Eaters were after you?" Rachel asked after a moment of silence.

"No… I don't know… I was thinking Rosier would be there," Sirius answered.

"You guys can put it in a report at the next Order meeting," Lily said.

James and Sirius agreed with a silent nod of their heads.

Sirius looked over at Rachel, who was sitting on the armchair with her arms crossed and a fairly neutral look on her face. "I'm sorry, okay?" Sirius said pointedly.

Rachel turned to him with a blank look. "Yeah, okay, I got it," she said. "I didn't say anything."

"Okay then," Sirius muttered.

Lily stood up with a sigh. "So are you two willing to stay for some tea and biscuits?" she asked.

"At this hour?" Rachel countered.

"Oh, you think you'll be able to fall asleep now, do you?" Lily asked challengingly.

Rachel sighed dejectedly. "Better be some bloody good biscuits," she grumbled.

"All right, Rachel," Lily said with a smile. "You wanna help me?"

"Don't really have a choice," Rachel replied smartly.

Lily rolled her eyes and then focused on James and Sirius. "And you two—don't do anything stupid," she ordered.

"All right, okay, we got it!" James exclaimed. "We were a little _too_ reckless tonight. We've learned our lesson."

"Good for you," Lily sniffed. She turned around and Rachel followed after her.

Lily and Rachel entered the small kitchen of James and Lily's flat. Lily set the water to boil and started moving scones from a cookie pan to a plate. She looked over at Rachel.

"They're just a couple of idiots, aren't they?" she said quietly.

Rachel nodded in agreement. "You'd think they would've grown up a bit by now," she muttered.

Lily smiled. "They're going to be the death of us, aren't they?" she noted jokingly.

"They wouldn't have it any other way," Rachel agreed.

Rachel and Lily laughed. The two hadn't gotten a chance to spend time together in awhile, and Rachel truly missed her friend. It was quite nice to have all four of them together for tea and biscuits, despite the pretenses the get-together was under.

Lily poured hot tea in four mugs. Rachel helped her take the mugs and the plate of biscuits back into the living room. They set the plate and mugs on the coffee table and the four of them gathered around it, quickly reverting back to their normal mood. Happy, talkative, cheery, not a worry in sight.

As Rachel took a bite out of her scone and a large sip of her tea, she realized how at peace she finally felt.

* * *

**All right, so, meh, I tried :/**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Can someone spot the canon in this chapter? :)**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	30. School Memories

**A/N: Eep, it's been a bit too long… so sorry! School has, unfortunately, started for me and I have Math first semester… double eep. Anyways, I tried my best :| Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Rachel set down her mug of tea on the coffee table when she heard an urgent knock on the door. With a disappointed sigh that her quiet evening was being disrupted, she stood up and headed for the door to open it.

Once the door opened, Lily immediately let herself in. She turned to face Rachel.

"Is Sirius around?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's handcuffed to the bed," Rachel answered matter-of-factly. Lily gave her a shocked look. Rachel rolled her eyes. "He's out for drinks with James, _remember_?" she added with an obvious tone.

Lily sighed and closed her eyes. "Right, yeah," she muttered.

"You want some tea?" Rachel asked.

"Sure," Lily replied quietly, dropping on one of the couches in the small living room.

Once Rachel had the tea prepared, she brought it to Lily and sat next to her, picking up her own mug of tea.

"So, what brought you here?" Rachel asked.

Lily sighed. "I need to tell you something," she muttered in reply.

"Okay…" Rachel answered slowly. "Well, go ahead and tell me. Is this about Christmas dinner, because to be honest Lily, I don't care. It's more than a month away."

"What? Er, no, it's not that," Lily replied, her voice still quiet.

Rachel frowned. "What's up with you?" she asked.

Lily took a deep breath. "All right, here goes," she said. "Well, Rachel, it turns out I'm pregnant."

There was a pause of silence. "So why are you telling me?" Rachel asked afterwards.

"What?" Lily replied, confused.

"Why are you telling me and not James?" Rachel clarified. "Unless James isn't the father, in which case—"

"No! Merlin, no, that's not it!" Lily exclaimed. "I–uh, well, James is out for drinks with Sirius and—"

"You're his bloody wife, what' he going to do anyways?" Rachel shouted.

"I—" Lily paused. "Good point."

"Yeah, no kidding," Rachel huffed.

Silence fell in the room and Lily and Rachel glanced at each other. Suddenly, the two broke out into the widest grins the world had ever seen. They both jumped up and started screaming immediately.

"It's going to be _so adorable_!"

"I'm going to buy those cute little fleece blankets!"

"We could make clothes for it!"

"Aw, just imagine its tiny little feet!"

Suddenly, the two girls heard the front door opened. Out of instinct, Rachel grabbed her wand off of the coffee table and aimed it towards the door. She lowered it and let out a sigh of relief when she noticed it was just Sirius and James.

"Why's James here?" Rachel asked.

"Why are you two screaming and giggling like normal females?" Sirius countered.

Rachel paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "I asked first," she finally said.

Sirius sighed. "Fine," he said, defeated. "James is quite drunk, if I do say so myself, and Lily would have his neck if she saw him. Oh. Hey Lily."

"_Wha—?_" James exclaimed, hiding behind Sirius.

"All right, your turn," Sirius said.

Rachel shrugged. "Not for me to say," she replied.

Sirius scoffed. "Pathetic excuse," he muttered. He pushed James off of him lightly.

Rachel placed her hands on her hips. "Says the one that's drunk," she countered.

"I'm pregnant!" Lily suddenly shrieked. She immediately smacked her hand over her mouth.

Silence fell in the room as everyone turned their shocked gazes towards Lily, whose face was burning red.

"Hey, that's great!" James suddenly exclaimed. "Wait, is it mine?"

Lily gaped. "_Of course it is you big dolt!_" she exclaimed.

"Well, now that we've got _that_ sorted out," Rachel started, "who else wants tea?"

"Ooh, yes please!"

"If you really wouldn't mind, that'd be great."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Rachel grumbled.

* * *

"Hey, who made the gingerbread muffins?" Marlene asked, sidling up next to Rachel, who was talking to Lily and Mary.

The Christmas party was practically full swing. Lily and Rachel had planned the whole thing and had decided to hold it in James and Lily's new house. They invited all of their friends from school, so on top of being a nice, cozy party in the midst of the war; it was also a friendly reunion.

"I did," Rachel replied.

"I didn't know you could bake," Marlene replied.

Rachel glared at Marlene. "Of course I can," she grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Hey, it's not worse than my situation," Lily said with a shrug. "I felt all of my present packages—they're all baby blankets."

"Uh, no, I got you a bottle of nice, aged Firewhiskey," Dorcas said, making her way into the small circle. "Not that it matters, you can't drink it for another eight months."

"Yeah, thanks Dorcas," Lily replied with a roll of her eyes.

"No problem," Dorcas answered. She gestured her mug of Butterbeer towards a small corner of the room. "At least someone's enjoying the evening."

The girls turned to the corner Dorcas was gesturing towards to see the Marauders playing an enthusiastic game of Exploding Snap. The gambling material seemed to be chocolate cauldrons and Muggle Christmas chocolates.

"They never grow up," Mary said with a smirk.

"Merlin forbid," Rachel said quietly.

"Splendid muffins, Rachel, by the way," Dorcas said suddenly.

"Yes!" Rachel exclaimed. "_Someone_ knows I can bake!"

"Actually, Sirius told me," Dorcas admitted. "I thought Mary made them."

"I can't bake to save my life," Mary put in.

Dorcas shrugged. "Must be your faces," she said.

Rachel glared at her and said, "Yeah, okay, don't ruin the party, got it?"

* * *

Rachel skimmed her eyes over the pin board in the Order of the Phoenix meeting hall. All of the papers pinned to it were pieces of information on suspected Death Eaters. In a way, it scared Rachel that all of these people that she shared classes with could become evil murderers.

With a sigh, she moved her gaze down the board and read through the patrols schedule. Dorcas and Gideon were out that night, in Knockturn Alley. Rachel was supposed to be in Muggle London the following week with Emmeline.

Although Rachel liked being part of the Order and she loved being able to do something to help out with the war, she always got nervous when she or her friends had patrols. Patrols were in the early morning when no one was around to hear any screams. Basically, it was just two magical folk watching each other's backs.

"Hey, we've got to go soon," she heard Sirius say. "Don't want to be caught out too late."

"Right," Rachel muttered. She noticed Sirius appear beside her. "Sirius, do you ever worry when James is out on patrols without you?" she suddenly asked.

Sirius looked taken aback. His face softened as he answered, "Of course I do. He was my first friend."

Rachel couldn't help but sympathize. Especially when it came down to Dorcas, because Dorcas had been Rachel's first friend too.

_The train seemed quite normal to eleven year-old Rachel. As magical as the school was, the train didn't seem very extraordinary. It was just a train. Of course, the train was also only so large and Rachel noticed that people liked to spread themselves out, so finding a compartment proved to be a bother._

_Rachel pulled open another compartment door and felt her spirits being crushed when she noticed another girl about her age sitting there. "Sorry," she muttered, about to close the compartment door._

"_You can sit here, if you want," the girl sitting suddenly said._

_Rachel gave her a shocked look. "Uh, are you sure?" she asked._

_The girl shrugged. "Sure."_

_Rachel walked in and sat down across from the girl. "So, uh, what's your name?" she asked._

"_Dorcas Meadowes," the girl replied. "You?"_

"_Rachel Fredricks," Rachel replied with a smile. "Say what house do you think you'll get into?"_

_Dorcas shrugged. "Not sure. My mum was a Gryffindor, but my dad was a Hufflepuff," she answered. "Although I hear it's not always about your bloodline."_

"_My dad was a Ravenclaw, but I guess that it doesn't matter then, huh?" Rachel said._

"_Nope, guess not," Dorcas said. "But I'll tell you something, Rachel. I hope you and I are in the same house."_

_Rachel frowned. "Why's that?"_

_Dorcas smiled. "Because I have a feeling we'll get along great."_

Rachel shook her head to get rid of the memory. She gave Sirius a small smile. "She'll be fine," Rachel said.

Sirius nodded and took Rachel's hand. "Let's go," he said.

* * *

**So sorry! I'll try to keep up and hopefully you'll have another chapter next weekend :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-How was the first year memory?  
-Overall?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	31. News and Separation

**A/N: Here it is! Took me some time (what with school and all), but it's up :)**

* * *

Rachel pushed open the door to her and Sirius's flat late that evening. She was shocked to find that the lights were still on and Sirius was still up, sitting on one of the couches in the living room. He had some pieces of parchment and was reading them over when he looked up to smile at Rachel.

"Lily and James sent us another letter," he informed her.

Rachel smiled. "Really? How are they?" she asked.

"They say fine," Sirius responded. "And they sent some pictures."

Rachel walked up to Sirius and sat down next to him. He passed the photos to her and Rachel flipped through them. "Wow, Lily's huge!" Rachel exclaimed with a smile. "I just wish we could see them."

"We probably might if Dumbledore let's us babysit once the little scoundrel's born," Sirius commented.

Rachel sighed. "Yeah, maybe," she muttered. "This is so annoying though."

Sirius shrugged and wrapped his arm around Rachel's shoulders, pulling her close to him. "Better safe than sorry," he said.

"Yeah, I suppose," Rachel admitted.

"Anyways, how was work?" Sirius asked.

"Bloody miserable," Rachel replied. "Had to Obliviate some poor Muggles."

Sirius sighed. "I wish this would all just end," he said.

Rachel scoffed. "Tell me about it."

"Do you sometimes think that it won't end?" Sirius asked.

Rachel frowned and turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is: do you ever think that it'll just keep going like this, or maybe that we'll lose?" Sirius clarified.

Rachel turned away and remained silent for a while. "I try not to," she whispered in reply.

"Yeah, me too," Sirius said.

* * *

Rachel clearly remembered the first night she had seen Sirius sad. That night, both of them had faced a large shock.

It was fairly early in the morning. They had just returned from some Order patrols together and were eating dinner leftovers in front of the telly. Rachel noted he had seemed a lot more quiet and distant than usual. He hadn't made any jokes or said much at all.

"Are you all right?" Rachel finally asked.

Sirius sighed. He knew he couldn't have kept it from her for too long. "No, not really," he replied. He turned his head to face her. "Did you know that my brother died?"

Rachel's eyes widened. "What?"

"Did you know?" Sirius repeated, his demeanor unchanging.

Rachel realized what he was thinking. "Sirius, I swear that if I knew _anything_ about your brother, I would've told you," she said. "He was fairly off the grid. We didn't have much information on him and we certainly didn't know he was dead."

"Yeah, well it wasn't recent either," Sirius continued. "I just found out, but he died about a year ago."

Rachel allowed a moment of silence to fall between the two of them. "Are you all right?" she finally asked quietly.

"Of course I am," Sirius replied. "I didn't even like him that much."

He paused for a moment. Rachel stared uncertainly at him.

"No, I'm not," Sirius said all of a sudden. "He was my brother and I never let him know I care. So no, I'm not all right."

Rachel saw it on his face. Sadness and regret. She nodded lightly. "Good to know you're human."

Sirius smiled slightly. "Thanks."

There was a knock at the door and both of them jumped up and grabbed their wands off of the coffee table in front of them. They approached the door cautiously and silently. Rachel pressed herself next to the door frame and Sirius reached for the doorknob.

He pulled the door open.

Sirius immediately relaxed. "Mooney, glad to see you," he breathed.

Rachel moved next to him and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Merlin," she said.

Remus, however, didn't look as relieved as the two of them. In fact, he looked very tense and angry, which was very unusual for the young man.

"Come in," Sirius ordered. Remus quickly shuffled in and the door was closed behind him.

"So, why the early morning visit?" Rachel asked. "Want some tea?"

"No thanks," Remus muttered. "I came here to tell you something," he added quietly.

"Oh?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms. "What's that?"

Remus clenched his teeth together and Rachel couldn't help but grown nervous. Sirius frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked worriedly.

Remus gave her a sad look.

"Dorcas was abducted," he said quietly.

Rachel's eyes widened in shock. "_What?_" she exclaimed.

"She was on patrols with Dearborn and they got attacked by about twenty Death Eaters," Remus replied. "Dearborn was killed on the spot, but they took Dorcas captive."

"Well, when's the rescue mission?" Rachel asked.

Remus sighed. "We have no leads, no witnesses, and it was five in the morning," he said quietly. "We can't go on a rescue mission."

"That's _bullshit_!" Rachel shouted. "You could rescue me, but not her?"

"That was a lot easier to trace," Remus explained calmly. "We had loads of witnesses and it was in broad daylight. We can't—"

"So you're telling my that not _one_ person in the Order can do _one fucking thing_ to save the first friend I _ever_ had?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel—"

"Just forget it, Remus," she interrupted. "I'll see you later."

Remus nodded and left silently. Rachel sat shakily in a chair close by. She buried her face in her hands and tried to hold back the tears, but she already felt them running down her cheeks. A sob escaped her throat and she felt Sirius's hand on her back.

"I know you want to do it, but don't," she heard Sirius say. "You'll get yourself killed."

"I didn't want to do anything," Rachel muttered, clearly lying.

She felt Sirius's hands grip her shoulders and looked up to meet his gaze. "I _know_ you," he said. "You want to go rescue her yourself. Well, I'm not letting you."

Rachel stared blankly at him. _I'm still going_, she thought stubbornly.

"I don't know if you get this or not," Sirius continued, "but you are my last family. I consider you family, because I have no one left. James is in hiding somewhere and my real family is dead. So don't even think of doing something so rash."

_I guess that's my evening plans out the window_, Rachel thought with a bit of guilt. She would never want to hurt Sirius.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her nose in his shoulder. The tears started running down her face more and her sobs came more often.

"It'll be fine," she heard Sirius whisper. "Nothing we can't handle, love."

* * *

It was a small ceremony. Very few people attended, but Rachel feared that was because there were very few people left. This was her sixth funeral since graduation. She never in her life imagined it would be Dorcas.

The casket was buried, the tombstone was up, and everyone else had gone, but Rachel remained, Sirius still standing patiently by her side. She didn't want to move. Deep inside, she hoped Dorcas had some unknown superpowers of immortality. Rachel couldn't accept that she was actually dead.

It must've been hours until Sirius finally spoke. "It's getting dark," he said. "We might get attacked."

_Like I bloody give a fuck_, Rachel thought bitterly. Her closest friend had died. She couldn't care less, even if it was that cowardly git Malfoy that took her life.

But she wouldn't do that to Sirius. So when she felt his hand grasp hers tightly, she willingly turned and walked away from the tombstone alongside him.

_At least now things can't possibly get any worse_, Rachel thought.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Kind of taking a turn towards angsty... did it work for Sirius and Rachel?  
-Overall?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	32. A Light in the Darkness

**A/N: Hello! Here's chapter 32. I'm trying my best with these chapters, but it's a bit tough right now with school and sports and being sick. Hope it's not too bad!**

* * *

Rachel and Sirius were sitting at their small dinner table one late evening. Piles of papers and folders on Death Eaters and Order reports were messily spread out onto the wooden surface as the dishes were magically scrubbed clean by a charmed sponge. Somehow, Rachel managed to tune out the constant scrubbing noises coming from the sink and actually concentrate on her work.

That is, until she heard a loud bang.

Rachel's head shot up immediately and her grip on her wand tightened. Sirius followed suit, looking around cautiously, until his eyes landed on the windows in the living room.

There, plastered on the window, was a small barn owl with an envelope in its beak.

Rachel and Sirius both shot up and ran for the window. Sirius opened it quickly and allowed the owl to enter the apartment. He gave it a small owl treat in exchange for the letter in its beak.

"It's from Lily and James," Sirius announced.

Excitement ran through Rachel. They hadn't heard much from Lily and James nowadays and it worried her. Especially since she knew they now had a small baby crawling around.

Sirius quickly tore open the envelope and pulled out the parchment folded inside. He unfolded the letter and skimmed over it. With a smile, he passed a few photographs to Rachel.

The first photograph was of a baby who Rachel could only guess to be James and Lily's little Harry pouncing on an orange cat. The other photo was of James playing with Harry. The third photo was another one of Harry, except in this one he was zooming around on the toy broomstick Sirius and Rachel had gotten him for his first birthday. Rachel smiled, glad that her friends were okay. She moved to read the letter over Sirius's shoulder.

"Well, we know who he takes after," Rachel commented. "Already zooming around on a broomstick and wreaking havoc."

Sirius laughed. His smile suddenly disappeared as he read over another part. "Wait, what does she mean by 'the news about the McKinnons'?" Sirius asked.

Rachel gave him a confused look, which followed by a look of realization. "You… didn't hear," she said quietly. "Marlene and her family were murdered last week."

Sirius shook his head lightly. "And Fabian?"

Rachel sighed. "He was out at the time," she replied. "Haven't been able to get a squeak out of him. Gideon's the only one he'll talk to."

After a long pause, Sirius seemed to decide to turn away from the matter. "Could we visit?" he muttered.

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "We can ask Dumbledore at the next Order meeting."

Sirius nodded. "Sounds good," he said. He turned his head and gave Rachel a small smile. "Can't wait to see the little bugger."

"I'll say!" Rachel agreed enthusiastically.

* * *

The Order meeting had adjourned and before Rachel could say anything, Sirius had run after Dumbledore to check if it would be all right to visit Lily and James. Rachel decided to scan the pin board in the meeting hall while she waited.

"Hello Rachel," she heard a voice say. Rachel turned to see Frank Longbottom behind her. She smiled.

"Hey Frank," she greeted. "Haven't talked to you in awhile."

"No, well, everyone's been terribly busy," he agreed. "I actually had a bit of news to share with you," he added more quietly.

Rachel frowned. "What would that be?"

Frank sighed. "We found out who murdered Dorcas," he said quietly. He looked around a bit aimlessly and Rachel noted the remorse on his face.

"Really? Did you arrest him?" Rachel immediately asked.

Regret passed over Frank's face. "Rachel… it was You-Know-Who," he replied.

Rachel frowned. "What do you mean?"

Frank sighed. "You-Know-Who personally murdered Dorcas."

"You have got to be kidding me," Rachel breathed out.

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Frank said.

Rachel shook her head slowly. "It's fine," she reassured. "Thanks for telling me."

Frank nodded and turned to walk away. He met up with Alice, who gave Rachel a reassuring smile. Rachel smiled back lightly, but the moment her friend's back was turned, the smile on her face dropped.

Rachel couldn't believe this. She couldn't even get proper justice for her best friend's killer.

"Hey!" she heard Sirius's voice say. Rachel turned towards him. "Dumbledore says we can even—hey, are you all right?"

After a short pause, Rachel nodded and let a small smile pass on her face. "Yeah, peachy," she replied. "So, what's the news?"

Sirius smiled back at her. "He says we can even go right now," he continued. Sirius grabbed Rachel's hand and gave her a smirk. "Come on. I think it's about time we test out my amazing motorcycle together."

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Rachel asked rhetorically.

Sirius leaned forward and gave her a short kiss on the lips. "Aw, don't be like that," he said. "It's going to be fun."

Rachel couldn't help but smile. She followed after Sirius, out of the meeting hall and into a damp alley a few blocks away. Sirius took out his wand and took off the Charms to reveal his magically modified motorbike. Sirius got on and, with a shake of her head, Rachel climbed on behind him.

"Hold on tight," Sirius said.

Rachel's arms wrapped tightly around Sirius's torso. "I'm going to kill you later," she muttered.

* * *

The motorbike landed in a secluded area of Godric's Hollow. The pair got off it and Sirius put the concealment Charms back on before taking Rachel's hand. The two walked briskly to the address of the safe house Lily and James were living in.

Once they had arrived, they quickly ran up to the door and knocked on it. Shortly after, it opened to reveal James aiming a wand at them.

"Aw, come on, Prongs, what way is that to greet your best friend?" Sirius said.

James frowned and lowered his wand. "Padfoot?"

"The one and only!" Sirius exclaimed.

James's face broke out into a large smile. "Padfoot! And Rachel! What the bloody hell are you two doing here?"

"Visiting you, of course!" Rachel answered.

"Am I hearing things or…"

Lily's voice was soon followed by the redhead herself walking up beside James. She broke out into a grin as well when she saw her two friends.

"Oh, come in for Merlin's sake!" she said happily. "I'm so happy you could come!"

Rachel and Sirius stepped inside and the door was shut behind them. Lily and James led them to the living room and the first thing Rachel saw was the familiar baby boy from the photos sitting on a blanket on the floor playing with toy blocks.

"Aw, he's even more adorable in person!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed.

Lily smiled. "Sit, I'll get you two some tea," she said. "I'm sure both Harry _and_ James could use a change in company. Merlin knows they've been bored out of their minds."

Instead of sitting down on the couch, both Sirius and Rachel sat down on the floor next to Harry and immediately began gushing over the small baby. James couldn't help but start laughing.

Rachel looked up at him, confused. "What?" she asked.

James shook his head. "You two come all this way and the first thing you do is start gushing over a baby," he said. "I mean, gushing in general is very out of character for the both of you."

"I'm sorry James, but have you not seen that absolutely adorable face of your son?" Rachel questioned. "I honestly can't believe he's fifty percent you."

"Ha! Wait 'till you see him zooming on that broomstick," Lily commented as she strolled into the living room. "Then you'll see the resemblance. Flying around and leaving a mess behind. He could only take after one person."

Rachel and Sirius laughed as James gave Lily a fake pout. Lily shook her head in amusement and set the mugs of tea on the coffee table.

The four of them, five including the one year-old Harry, spent the remainder of the evening laughing and catching up. Rachel hadn't realized until then exactly how much she missed the two of them. For a small moment, she even seemed to forget the news Frank had brought her. That evening turned out to be a small light in a time of darkness.

And Rachel would never forget it for the rest of her life.

* * *

**Heh, yeah, there it is :3**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-I'm really excited to write the last few chapters, but I just hope they please everyone. I'm just wondering at what people think of the story at this point.**

**-Forgive me for the crappy update?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	33. Time Gone By

**A/N: Here's chapter 33! Hopefully, I'll have a quicker update next week since it's Thanksgiving weekend (no promises).**

* * *

Rachel was leaning on the arm of the large sofa in the living room, her eyes following the words on the book in her hand. Sirius, sitting opposite from her, was writing a letter to someone (most likely James). When he finished the letter, he set it down on the coffee table and nudged Rachel's feet with his own.

"Mm?" she managed to get out. _Why is he bothering me while I'm reading?_

Rachel felt her feet being pushed back. Without looking up, she kicked Sirius's feet away and stretched her legs out on the sofa. Sirius kicked back. Rachel scowled and looked up.

"You are exactly like a little kid, you know that?" she said angrily.

Sirius smirked and shrugged. "I was getting the impression that you weren't giving me enough attention," he admitted jokingly.

Rachel rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. "You know, we could be doing better things right now," she said. "It's kind of annoying to just be sitting around."

"It is," Sirius agreed. "And it's pathetic that we can't even celebrate a small holiday like Halloween."

"Tell me about it," Rachel muttered. She adjusted herself so she could sit next to Sirius. He wrapped his arm around her. "We'd all be getting together right now, piss drunk."

"Mooney would dress up as a muggle, because he thinks that's creative," Sirius said.

Rachel laughed. "Dorcas would be a pumpkin," she said. "She actually was one year."

"Frank would probably be a vampire," Sirius added.

"I don't even want to think about what outfit Marlene would go for," Rachel said.

They laughed. "We sure miss them," Sirius said.

"A lot more than I thought I would," Rachel admitted. "And it's those small annoying things that I miss especially. What on earth are we going to do when this is all over?" She sighed as Sirius hugged her closer to him.

"I have an idea," Sirius said.

"Hm?"

"I have an idea of what we could do when this is over," Sirius clarified.

"Oh?" Rachel said. "And what's this idea of yours?"

"We could get married."

For a moment, Rachel thought she was hearing wrong. "What?" she managed to breathe out.

"Yeah, why not?" Sirius said. "The only reason we didn't do it was because we didn't see the point of doing it during a war. But when it's over, there's plenty of reason to get married."

"_You_ want to get _married_?" Rachel asked slowly.

"You know, I don't quite like what you're implying there," Sirius said sarcastically.

Rachel began laughing. "It's just unbelievable," she said.

"So? Are you up for it then?" Sirius asked.

"Is that even a question?" Rachel retorted.

Sirius leaned forward and closed the small amount of space between the two of them to softly kiss Rachel. Rachel couldn't help but melt into the kiss. It was gentle and slow and pretty much everything Rachel needed in that moment. She almost regretted pulling away from him.

"But you do realize that this means you'll be stuck with me forever, right?" Sirius suddenly said.

"Oh, I would've been stuck with you forever anyways," Rachel replied with a smile.

* * *

Rachel wasn't sure if it was the storm or the loud knock on the door that woke her up.

In any case, she felt the covers moving and Sirius getting out of the bed. "Wait, hold up," she managed to mumble out. Quickly, she got out of bed and pulled on a dressing rob. She grabbed her wand off of her nightstand. "We are way to tired for this," she muttered as she walked over to Sirius.

"Maybe we'll get lucky," Sirius said. "Maybe it's not someone trying to kill us."

"Five galleons," Rachel betted.

Sirius laughed lightly. "You're on."

Sirius took the lead, Rachel following closely behind him. He approached the door and Rachel hid just out of the peripheral vision of the person that would be standing on the doorstep. Wand up, Sirius looked through the peephole. He frowned.

"When was the first time I covered for you?" Sirius asked the person on the other side of the door.

"Third year," the voice replied. It was muffled, but Rachel could tell it was Remus. "I paid you ten galleons to keep your mouth shut about me being the one to dye Malfoy's hair pink."

Sirius opened the door, a bit to reluctant for Rachel's liking. Why would he be so hesitant with one of his closest friends? Rachel walked up next to him and smiled at Remus.

"Evening Remus," Rachel greeted.

"Evening," he returned. "Do you two mind if I come in?"

Rachel shook her head and looked over at Sirius. His expression was unchanging and when he met Rachel's eyes, he shrugged, a sort of icy look passing over his face. As Rachel gestured Remus inside, she grabbed Sirius's arm.

"What's up with you?" she whispered to him.

"Just haven't been getting along particularly well with Mooney recently," Sirius muttered.

"No fucking joke," Rachel muttered back sarcastically. She glared at Sirius. "He's your _friend_."

Sirius sighed. "You're right."

The two of them made their way to Remus who was standing in the living room. "Why'd you come here so late in the evening?" Rachel asked.

Remus gave them sad looks. "I have some bad news," he said.

"What's it about?" Sirius asked.

Remus winced slightly. "Uh, look, you two better sit down," he said. As Rachel looked more closely at him, she noted his eyes looked a bit bloodshot.

"What's happened?" Sirius asked more urgently.

"Please don't get angry, Padfoot," Remus said.

"Just get on with it!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed.

Remus sighed. "It's Lily and James," he whispered. "You-Know-Who…" He trailed off.

"Mooney," Sirius started. "Are they dead?"

Remus gave Sirius a pained look. "It's You-Know-Who…"

Suddenly, Sirius left the room and grabbed his coat. Rachel heard the door slam shut.

Shakily, Rachel grabbed the arm of the armchair and sat down slowly. She tried to take even and slow breaths, but all that was coming out were rapid and nervous breaths. She couldn't calm herself, no matter what she tried.

"Is… is Harry dead?" Rachel managed to ask in her state.

"I didn't hear anything about him," Remus replied quietly. "You think he's going to do something rash?"

"He always does something rash," Rachel answered. She was beginning to calm down a bit. "I've started to ignore it. Did they suffer?"

Remus hesitated. "It was the Killing Curse," he answered, deciding that answering Rachel's questions was probably what she needed then.

"What'll happen to Harry, if he's alive?" Rachel asked.

"He goes to Sirius," Remus replied.

Rachel looked up at him, shocked. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Sirius is marked down as Harry's next of kin," Remus answered.

"So… he doesn't go to Lily's sister?"

Remus shook his head. "He shouldn't."

* * *

Rachel didn't know why she was torturing herself with the album. Pictures of her and Sirius. The only way she would ever see Sirius again.

She flipped the last page of the old album. The last picture was of the two of them in Hogsmeade in seventh year. Rachel was just about to throw the album across the room, like she had the others, when an envelop caught her eye.

She took it out and pulled out the parchment inside. Her eyes skimmed over the words quickly.

_Dear Rachel,_

_I'm sorry. I am an idiot._

_I feel like I let go of something huge by not telling you a lot of things. I let go of _you_, to be more specific, and I never told you how I felt. Maybe if I did, I wouldn't have lost you._

_The first thing you should know is that you weren't just another girl to check off of my list. Well, you might've been at first, but I got hooked on just getting your approval after awhile. And when I did get it, I acted like a complete arse. I don't really think these things through apparently._

_And I didn't tell you how wonderful I think you are. You are the one person I have ever had any amount of feelings for. Because you're absolutely perfect. You're beautiful and funny and, well, you didn't chase me around all the time so that was rather attractive._

_And I don't really know the point of this letter. I just needed to let you know, I guess. I know it won't matter now._

_Sincerely,_

_Sirius_

This letter… she remembered the evening. Rachel had absolutely hated Sirius then, running off like the idiot he was. But she'd never bothered to open the letter.

It honestly didn't help. Not now that Sirius was gone. His soul was being tortured in Azkaban, where he didn't belong. Serving time for crimes he didn't commit.

Rachel felt the knot in her stomach that came every time she thought about the past week's events. They were supposed to celebrate Sirius's twenty-second birthday the day before. They were going to go out for something Italian.

Instead, Rachel had been living on coffee for the past week.

But in that moment, a plan suddenly formed in her head. Somehow, she knew what she had to do.

* * *

**Well, that's it for now!**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Sorry if it seemed a bit rush :|  
-Constructive criticism?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	34. Undercover Auror

**A/N: So, I had it typed up yesterday and ready to go, but then I had to go to a Thanksgiving dinner that went on for longer that I planned it to... Well, I seriously hope you're not too angry with me :3**

* * *

Rachel slammed her fist down on Dumbledore's desk.

"What do you mean I'm not getting Harry?"

Her loud exclamation was followed by complete silence in the office Rachel remembered visiting as a student. In the corner of her eye, Rachel saw one of the headmasters in a portrait wake from his slumber and give Rachel a pointed stare. Before Rachel, Dumbledore stood just as calm as before.

"It will be best for Harry to be raised by muggles, in his situation," Dumbledore explained. "We don't want to attract too much attention to him, especially not now with all of the rogue Death Eaters."

"Right, and putting him in the care of the woman that tormented Lily for being a witch is better how exactly?" Rachel countered.

"I know it is difficult for you to understand," Dumbledore continued, "but this is for the best."

"And what about Sirius?" Rachel asked.

"What about him?" Dumbledore replied.

"You _know_ he's innocent," Rachel stated. "So _please_. Do something."

"Rachel, please understand there is very little I can do," Dumbledore explained. "The courts refuse to accept an alibi for him and he is sentenced. Once the Wizengamot has made up its mind, there is very little anyone can do."

"That's _ridiculous_!" Rachel shouted. Tears burned at her eyes. "They're just _scared_! They need to put people away so they never have this happen again, but Sirius is the wrong person! He doesn't even have a Dark Mark!"

Rachel," Dumbledore said, his tone sharper than before. "Go home. Rest. Don't let this concern you too much."

Rachel gritted her teeth together and fought back a reply. She turned and left Dumbledore's office. On her way out, she nearly crashed into Remus.

"Oh, hey," she managed to mutter. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to talk through some things with Dumbledore," Remus explained. "How are you holding up?"

"Terribly, thanks for asking," Rachel replied. After a long moment of silence she added, "You think we can get him out?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Remus asked.

"Sirius, you think we can save him from Azkaban?" Rachel clarified. She looked up at Remus. "You and I both know he didn't do it!"

"Rachel, he's already there," Remus said with a sigh. "There is very little we can do now."

"_Why_ does everyone keep saying that?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Because it's true!" Remus replied. "And even if I agreed, he definitely wouldn't want _me_ rescuing him."

"And why the hell not?" Rachel questioned threateningly.

"We were on bad terms," Remus said. "There is no reason I should have contact with him."

"That's childish," Rachel retorted.

"There are more important things," Remus countered.

"How can you say that?" Rachel exclaimed.

"_That's_ childish," Remus replied. "Honestly, you are an _Auror_. The Wizarding World needs you like never before. So forget it, Rachel. You can't let your emotions get the best of you in these times."

"Fine then," Rachel muttered. "I guess I'm on my own."

* * *

With a tired sigh, Rachel placed another folder into the large cabinet. There had been so much paperwork since Voldemort had disappeared. One would think that the disappearance of an evil and powerful wizard would be the solution to everything, but the incident caused a lot of Death Eaters to act up.

The door to the small office opened and Mad Eye walked in. Rachel looked up questioningly.

"Nearly done there, Fredricks?" he asked.

"Not even close," Rachel grumbled in reply.

"Good, let's go," Mad Eye said.

"But—"

"I said, let's go," Mad Eye repeated. "I have a mission for you."

* * *

Rachel tugged on the hood of the black cloak she was wearing, causing it to almost completely cover her face. She held a tight grip on the wand hidden up her sleeve and moved quickly along the gloomy streets of Knockturn Alley.

Her mission was quite simple. She was supposed to listen in on a rumored Death Eater gathering in a suspicious little shop called Borgin and Burkes. Her objective was to return to the Ministry unnoticed and with plentiful information on active Death Eaters and their next moves.

So it would quite obviously be disappointing if they were all just gathering for a nice lunch.

Especially since she had two Aurors backing her up and listening in through a Charmed brooch.

With a begrudging sigh, Rachel pushed open the door to the shady shop and walked in, her head hanging and face completely hidden. In regular circumstances, she would come off as suspicious and be discovered immediately. But honestly, everyone in Knockturn Alley walked around like that. Hanging her head and pulling her cloak closer to her actually helped Rachel fit in.

Rachel's feet glided soundlessly on the filthy stone floors as she approached a cabinet filled with skulls, voodoo dolls, and treasures of Dark Magic, pretending to browse and take interest. Only a few minutes later, the bell at the entrance rang. Rachel kept her head down and listened closely.

"Come along, Cissy!" a voice cackled. "Don't stand there like a deaf mutt."

"But Bella…"

"Are you _scared_?"

There was a pause and then the nervous shuffling of footsteps.

_Bella, Bella…_ Rachel racked her brain, trying to match the nickname to any known Death Eaters._ Bellatrix Lestrange._ In that case, the other woman with her must've been her sister, Narcissa Malfoy.

Rachel saw them move to the back of the shop out of the corner of her eye. Quietly and slowly, she went after them, keeping her eyes on the objects in the glass cases.

"… with the Dark Lord gone—"

"Bollocks! The Dark Lord is _not_ gone, _fool_!" Bellatrix interrupted a male voice.

"Why, you—"

"If you two get into one more argument I swear I'll sew your lips shut!"

Bellatrix cackled. "No need to get _angry_, Cissy!"

"Narcissa, don't scold me, scold your _sister_," the male voice said. "Honestly, she's such a child. We can't go on wreaking havoc without a leader."

Rachel quickly identified the male voice as Lucius Malfoy. _Huh_, Rachel thought to herself. _For Lucius Malfoy, that actually sounded reasonable._

"And _why not_?" Bellatrix questioned. "We must follow out the Dark Lord's legacy, kill _every_ Mudblood—"

"We are useless without him, Bella," Narcissa said. "We are weak now. If we want to remain away from the wary eyes of the Ministry, we must lay low."

"Will you two stop being such _scaredy-cats_?" Bellatrix shouted. "What happened to the both of you?"

"The Dark Lord _died_, that's what happened, you ignorant—"

"_I'm_ ignorant?" Bellatrix screeched, interrupting Malfoy once more. "As if I'm the one going around saying the Dark Lord is dead!"

"Stop this, Bella," Narcissa hissed.

"Stop _what_?" Bellatrix snapped. "I will be leading an invasion two evenings from now right in the middle of Muggle London. It's your choice if you want to attend, but I'll know you're cowards if you don't."

Rachel turned to leave. She turned too sharply. Her hand hit a glass jar. Its shatter on the stone floor was followed by still silence.

"_Fuck_," Rachel hissed to herself.

"Need back-up?" a quiet, static voice came from the charmed earring.

"Mmhm," Rachel muttered. She moved to leave as quickly as she could, but she knew she had been noticed.

"You!" Bellatrix shouted. "Stop right there!"

Rachel halted. Slowly, she turned towards Bellatrix. "Yes?" she asked quietly.

"Remove your hood," Bellatrix ordered.

Rachel smirked. "As you wish," she said sarcastically. She brought her hands up and pushed her hood back dismissively.

"You again?" Bellatrix seethed. "I'm getting tired of you, Mudblood."

"Yes well," Rachel started. "I am quite tiresome."

Rachel had not even allowed a millisecond of a pause after she spoke before putting up a protection Charm. Clearly, Bellatrix hadn't hesitated either, because her _Crucio_ bounced off Rachel's _Protego_. Bellatrix took aim again. Expecting another Cruciatus Curse, Rachel got ready to deflect it, but she was greatly surprised. Before she could set up her Charm, there was a red flash of light and Rachel's wand jumped out of her hand.

"Weren't expecting that, were you, Mudblood?" Bellatrix asked mockingly.

Rachel clenched her fists, bracing herself for what was to come.

"Cru—_Agh!_"

Rachel's eyes widened as a cage smashed into Bellatrix and the curly-haired woman fell over.

"_What the bloody hell_—?"

Ropes appeared and bound themselves around Bellatrix, including over her mouth, which turned her screeches into bothersome muffles. Rachel turned to see Kingsley Shacklebolt holding his wand out to levitate the bound Death Eater.

"The Wizengamot summons one Bellatrix Lestrange to their chambers," Kinglsey began, his voice ringing out through the Dark Magic shop as he listed all of Bellatrix's charges, "under suspicions of alliance to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, conspiracy to harm Muggles, thus putting our world at risk of discovery, sixteen counts of attempted murder, twenty-five counts of first degree murder, and innumerable counts of the use of all of the Unforgivable Curses."

Bellatrix gave another muffled scream that Rachel made out to be "Filthy blood traitor!" Well, everyone but her seemed to be filthy.

"Fredricks, Proudfoot, grab the other two," Shacklebolt ordered.

"Wait, sir," Rachel said. "They weren't conspiring to the even tomorrow evening."

"Pardon?" Shacklebolt asked.

"They were, in fact, trying to stop Lestrange from going," Rachel explained. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were trying to start off on a clean slate."

Shacklebolt paused. "Very well. We'll tell Moody to put them under surveillance for awhile then."

"Yes sir."

As Proudfoot and Shacklebolt left with Bellatrix, Rachel turned to Narcissa and Lucius. Silence filled the shop for a long moment.

"You owe me one, Malfoys," Rachel suddenly said. "Here's all I'm asking: don't fuck up your lives anymore. And same goes for that most likely bratty son of yours."

"Why, you—"

"Thank you," Narcissa interrupted Lucius, her voice icy.

Rachel nodded and exited the shop. _Now why the hell did I do that?_

* * *

**So, not my best :/ But I have something a bit different planned for the next one.**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-How did you like it overall?  
**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	35. Mentoring the Apprentice

**A/N: Here is chapter 35... wow, that many already? Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

_September 1, 1993_

"This is _pathetic_," Tonks whined. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"All right then, what would you rather be doing?" Rachel asked with a sigh.

"Chasing down Death Eaters!" Tonks exclaimed happily.

"Not an option," Rachel replied monotonously. "First of all, you've still got two years until you get to do the real Auror business and second of all, Death Eaters have been completely silent since You-Know-Who disappeared."

"Yeah, silent until one of them broke out," Tonks scoffed.

"Yes, I suppose," Rachel muttered to herself.

"And now _we're_ stuck babysitting all of these students until Black gets caught again," Tonks complained. "Or rather, _I'm_ stuck here. You _could_ ask for something more exciting, you know? You don't have to mentor Auror trainees for the rest of your long, sad life."

"No thanks," Rachel said. "I've had enough excitement in my life. I would much rather stay out of all that now."

"Well that's a waste—I heard you were a great Auror," Tonks replied. "Moody always brags about how you completed the Auror training in two years—half the time—under his supervision."

"Two and a half years," Rachel corrected. "And it wasn't easy, so there's nothing to brag about."

"Yes, but it's bloody well good enough to be put on the elite team that is personally chasing down Sirius Black," Tonks observed.

Rachel paused. "No thanks," she finally said. "I've done enough chasing down criminals in my short lifetime."

The truth of the matter was Rachel had spent four years after Sirius was imprisoned chasing down Death Eaters and seeing their arrests through. She had seen the bloodiest, worst, cases ever. After four years, she was done. Rachel knew that she would go crazy if she kept on doing that for any longer. So she stepped down from the serious work and focused on mentoring and supervising Auror trainees_ only_.

After that, the most dangerous thing she had done was go to Harry's Muggle school one day. Rachel spotted him immediately. He had grown to be the spitting image of his father. Even at seven years old, the resemblance was uncanny. Lily's sister was too cheap to buy him proper glasses. The irony in that was that Harry's glasses looked almost exactly like James's.

"Hello? Earth to the almighty Rachel Fredricks!" Rachel heard Tonks' voice call. "We've got to get on the train!"

"Right," Rachel muttered, following after Tonks.

The two hopped on the train just a few moments before it shook slightly and left the station.

* * *

"So, what are my orders?" Tonks asked.

"Get off at Hogsmeade station and make sure all of the students get on their carriages safely," Rachel explained. "Once all of the students are gone, you'll do a sweep of the train and then we come back to King's Cross. I'll be supervising and giving any necessary assistance."

"And, of course, a passing grade," Tonks added.

"Sure," Rachel replied dismissively. "Just remember, you have to treat me like a partner that has the same knowledge as you. I can't provide any extra help."

"Piece of—ow."

Rachel sighed and shook her head. As amiable and funny as Tonks was, she sure was clumsy. The young girl had just run into a compartment door.

"You really should be more careful," Rachel said.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Tonks said defensively. "I'm just cursed, I guess."

"Sure, whatever floats your boat," Rachel said with a smirk.

Rachel's smirk fell off her face when the train suddenly halted to a stop and the lights went out. Her eyes widened and her hand instinctively reached for her wand. She glanced at Tonks, who had already pulled out and lit her wand. Rachel followed suit and ordered for Tonks to follow.

Rachel's feet quietly and slowly glided through the train. Her and Tonks stopped at compartments to tell the students to remain calm. Rachel suddenly noted the windows freezing over.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" she muttered to herself.

"You know, I wouldn't put it past Moody to do something like this to test the both of us," Tonks grumbled.

"Something tells me Mad Eye isn't behind this one," Rachel replied.

Tonks sighed disappointedly. "Then it's probably going to be boring."

Rachel kept her guard up as they walked along the train. Not long after, she noted a dark figure on the other side of the train carriage.

"Hello?" Rachel called out. "You should get back to your compartment—all students have been instructed to stay put until the problem is resolved."

No reply came. The figure seemed to be advancing slowly. Soon enough, it was close enough to recognize.

Rachel inhaled sharply in shock.

Her instincts kicked in immediately. "Expecto patronum!" she shouted. A silver wisp of light came from the tip of her wand that soon formed a dog, which eagerly charged the Dementor. The Dementor collapsed silently and Rachel's patronus disintegrated.

_For fourteen years all it's been is a bloody dog_, Rachel thought to herself. _Guess no matter what, he's never left me._

When did Rachel's Patronus first change… when she thought about it, it must've been when she moved in with Sirius. She had used it to send a message to Kingsley about a week after and suddenly it wasn't a hawk anymore. It was a dog—just like Sirius's Animagus form.

"Wow, that was one bloody powerful Patronus," Tonks observed admiringly.

"It used to be a hawk," Rachel muttered, more to herself.

"Oh? When did it change?" Tonks asked.

"About fourteen years ago," Rachel answered. "Or somewhere around there."

"Okay…" Tonks said, a little confused. "Anyways, that was pretty badass."

Rachel laughed. "Tonks, let me tell you something," she said. "Whenever you think I'm a brilliant Auror, just remember this: I had two Death Eaters tied up and captured in my apartment one time and they both got away, no harm done."

"Well, that is pretty bad," Tonks admitted, laughing.

The lights suddenly flickered back on and the train shook. Slowly, it started back along the tracks, quickly gaining speed. The frost on the windows started to melt and the animated conversation of students started back up again.

"I don't get what a Dementor was doing here…" Rachel suddenly said.

"Didn't you hear?" Tonks asked. "Fudge ordered them here to protect Hogwarts."

"Guess they're really taking precautions against Black, huh?" Rachel said. _Honestly, the most threatening thing about Sirius are his lame jokes_, she thought to herself. Oh, how she missed those jokes.

Thinking about it, Rachel missed a lot about Sirius. She missed morning tea with him, she missed yelling at him for hiding her clothes so she got to work late in the morning, she missed how they would have rainy days _out_, not in. They would purposely go outside, which sounded pretty pathetic, but during the war it had been pretty exciting. She just missed _him_, in all of his cocky, lame jokes, sweet, attractive glory.

"Well, he _is_ a mass murderer," Tonks replied.

"Apparently so," Rachel said, pretending to agree.

Rachel and Tonks heard a compartment door slide open. They both began to turn.

"If you don't mind, we're still asking students to remain—oh," Rachel paused as she recognized the person in front of her.

"Right, and, uh, who are you?" Tonks asked. _Blunt as ever_, Rachel thought to herself. Honestly, the young girl had grown on her in the past two years.

"Remus Lupin," Remus introduced himself. "I'm the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Not for long," Tonks said jokingly.

"Pardon?" Remus asked.

"The Defence teachers—they don't stick around for long," Rachel clarified.

"Right," Remus said. "And you are?" he added, obviously trying to act like he didn't know Rachel. _What is he playing at?_

Rachel resisted the urge to scoff at Remus's terrible lying. "Auror Rachel Fredricks and Auror Trainee Nymphodra Tonks—"

"—just call me Tonks," Tonks interrupted with a grumble.

"Yes, well, we were stationed here for extra security," Rachel finished. "Have there been any problems around this area of the train?"

"Yes, actually," Remus replied. "A Dementor attacked one of the students."

"_What_?" Rachel exclaimed. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, it happened," Remus said. "I'll alert Dumbledore of it as soon as I get the chance."

"Very well," Rachel said with a nod. "Goodbye, Lupin."

Rachel turned and walked along the aisle of the train, Tonks following after her. Rachel heard some incoherent grumbling from her trainee. She paused and turned towards Tonks.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Well, Merlin, Rachel," Tonks grumbled. "You wanna let the trainee handle all of this cool and _exciting_ fancy internal affairs or whatever you call it next time?"

Rachel smirked. "Not your objective," she replied. "Why, look, fellow Auror Tonks, we've almost arrived at Hogsmeade station! What shall we do?"

* * *

**Heh. Talk about time jump XD**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-What do you think of grown-up Rachel?  
-Did anyone see the whole Tonks thing coming or...?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	36. One Hell of a Conversation

**A/N: Here is 36! Sorry for the shortness of it... I've been focusing a bit more on one of my original pieces lately :|**

* * *

_February 23, 1994_

"_What_ the bloody hell are you _on_?" Rachel exclaimed.

"That was actually quite rude," Remus muttered. "What a shock. I never expected that from you," he added sarcastically.

Rachel rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "I don't understand how you could _still_ have doubts about Sirius's innocence," she continued. "You are _nutters_."

"Well, I _don't_ anymore," Remus said. "Thanks to the handy-dandy Marauder's Map." He threw down the parchment on his desk.

Rachel smirked. "That old thing is still around?" she asked. Oh, how much trouble that had caused.

"Yes, believe it or not," Remus confirmed. "It was in the safekeeping of Fred and George Weasley, who kindly handed it down to Harry."

"Weasley, eh?" Rachel questioned. "And what a coincidence that Harry should get it."

"Yes, and they're Molly's sons. Remind me an awful lot of Fabian and Gideon," Remus said. "It is. There is something even more astounding though. You'll never guess who popped up in the middle of the night."

"Surprise me," Rachel said. "Wait, was it Sirius?"

Remus scoffed. "He might've been friends with Prongs, but he wasn't that big of an idiot," he said. "It was, in fact, Wormtail."

Rachel's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you kidding me?" she hissed. "But wasn't Sirius framed for his murder?"

"Think about it a bit harder," Remus said sourly.

Rachel's mind tried to work out what was happening as silence fell in the room. Suddenly, her jaw dropped slightly. There was no way.

Her surprise quickly turned into anger.

"I know that look," Remus said. "Don't you dare hunt him down."

Rachel gritted her teeth and sighed. "Fine," she grumbled. "Well, I better be getting back to work."

"Right, you're training Aurors now," Remus said. "I always thought you'd stay with the difficult work."

"So did I," Rachel agreed. "But clearly, a lot of things didn't go to plan."

"I'll say," Remus muttered.

They said their goodbyes and Rachel exited the stone office. She rushed down the familiar school hallways, her eyes doing the same routine as always. It was completely involuntary, but every time she visited Hogwarts, her eyes searched for Harry. She didn't even have to think about it.

Rachel was so lost in the activity, though, that she almost crashed into someone.

"Oi, sorry about that," she muttered, taking a couple of steps back. When she looked up to address the person, she almost cursed aloud.

"Not a problem," Snape slowly replied, immediately recognizing the Auror in front of him.

Rachel pursed her lips and looked around aimlessly. "Well then, g'day Professor," she said, sweeping past him.

Reminiscing with Remus was rather fun. Something just told Rachel that it wouldn't be quite as pleasant with Snape.

* * *

When he thought about it, Sirius couldn't believe his luck. He had been so close… almost made it to the free land, almost set everything right. But that was the key word: _almost_. He'd _almost_ got it all—but he didn't. It just wasn't good enough.

However, he didn't _almost_ get caught and sentenced again—that one was quite the simple task to complete.

Who knew twelve years in Azkaban would inevitably result in his execution?

However, if Sirius were given the choice between the two, he would choose execution. Azkaban had been… positively frightening. His life before it had been perfect happiness, even during the war. Sticking him on an island with Dementors was just about the most damaging thing. And on top of that, there were his demented cousin's shrieks _every freaking day_. It was enough to drive him mad.

Sirius sighed. If this was how it was going to end, then he was happy that he got to speak to Harry first.

Suddenly, Sirius remembered the aged envelope Remus had given him.

Sirius quickly pulled the envelope from its hiding spot under his shirt. His heartbeat slowed down for a good minute as he took in the writing on the front. It was his name. Written in Rachel's writing. He would've recognized that curvy and neat longhand anywhere.

Slowly, he ripped open the envelope and pulled out the parchment.

_Dear Sirius,_

_Bloody hell, this is a really late reply. _

_In case you haven't realized yet, I'm replying to that silly old letter you wrote me way back in that summer before seventh year. Weird times, eh? You came to my house and were all silent and then you kissed me (it was a bloody magnificent kiss, by the way) and then you suddenly Apparated away (which was really fucking rude). Anyways, you left behind this letter that seemed to be written with your hormones and actual emotions instead of your brain._

_It was really fun to read, considering you were falsely imprisoned at the time when I read it._

_Yes okay, I read your letter five years late. Sue me._

_But anyways, I just wanted to say that not telling me how you felt pretty much made the whole thing that much more fun (so don't feel too bad—we did get engaged). Secondly, it's really sweet that you didn't consider me just another slag. Honestly, I'm touched._

_Also, Sirius love, I also think you are as equally wonderful as you think I am. Which, apparently, is a whole awful lot._

_I don't really know the point of this letter, either. I guess I just wanted to feel like I was talking to you. Bloody hell, I already miss you and it's only been three weeks. Stupid life sentences._

_Your amazing fiancée,_

_Rachel_

_P.S. – Yes, I am most likely still alive and no, I have not become a cat lady, thank you very much. I will forever be sophisticated._

Despite his sorry state, Sirius couldn't help but laugh to himself. This letter was so much like Rachel. He had regretted not being able to talk to her before his sentence, but it seemed to him that they had just had one lengthy conversation. Which was actually true considering this started way back in seventh year.

He had missed her too. Now that he thought about it, thinking of her was the only thing that kept him sane in Azkaban.

Just as Sirius had relaxed, he heard a loud _BANG!_ Sirius looked up quickly and saw… well, to be perfectly honest, he saw Harry, Harry's oddly smart friend, and a hippogriff that seemed to have anger issues.

And Sirius also no longer saw any bars restricting him.

Well, this was a certain turn of events.

* * *

**I'm sorry again for the crappy length! D:**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-What did you think of Rachel's letter?  
-Hope the time jumps aren't bothering anyone... there isn't much else to write about in between.**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	37. The Big Chase

**A/N: Here it is! Sorry if it sucks... I was carving pumpkins :)**

* * *

_June 15, 1994_

"Fredricks!"

Rachel turned from her conversation with Tonks to address the… wait a second, the _Minister of Magic_?

"Minister?" Rachel replied. "What on earth are you doing at Hogwarts?"

"I was simply here to supervise the execution of a hippogriff—"

"—well that's just mean," Tonks grumbled.

"Oh, Trainee Nymphadora Tonks! Okay, it will all be fine," Fudge muttered incoherently.

"Minister? Maybe you should calm down…" Rachel said.

"_Calm down_? Do you not understand what's happened?" Fudge exclaimed.

"No, I don't!" Rachel shouted back, silencing the old man. "I was just doing patrols and training Tonks here and you come running up to us like you've got a giant acromantula chasing you! Care to debrief me or will you continue mumbling like an idiot?"

"Why, I—" Fudge paused and let out a huff. "Very well, then. I'll have you know we recaptured Sirius Black and resentenced him to death. He was to be executed."

Rachel's mouth had gone dry. It took all of her willpower to speak. "Yes, and the problem?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"He seems to have broken out of his holding cell," Fudge clarified.

Rachel stared blankly at him.

"_Find him!_" Fudge suddenly screeched.

"Whoa, okay, geez!" Rachel exclaimed, rolling her eyes and muttering something about anxiety.

"_Yes_! Now this is some serious action!" Tonks exclaimed.

Rachel didn't reply. She couldn't. Her mind was working overtime trying to figure out how to let Sirius escape. She couldn't be the one to arrest him and send him to his death. It would kill her. And she simply couldn't do it. How could anyone ever ask that of her?

"Rachel?" Tonks called. "Let's get a move on!"

Rachel's head snapped up and her attention turned to Tonks. "Right…" Rachel replied. "Let's go then." She'd have to figure it out along the way.

The two ran through the grounds of Hogwarts, keeping their eyes peeled and with their wands at the ready. Rachel hoped to Merlin she could save him. She certainly didn't want to arrest him. Her and Tonks rounded a corner and suddenly, Tonks stopped short.

"Success," the younger woman muttered.

Rachel averted her gaze from her trainee and looked ahead. Her eyes widened when she saw him.

Bloody Sirius Black standing there all proud with a hippogriff. Oh, how she wished she could kiss him.

But Rachel couldn't even move. It seemed that her feet were frozen on the spot. Her eyes stayed focused On Sirius, Harry, and a bushy-haired girl that Rachel vauely recognized. After awhile, Tonks stared at her uncertainly, unsure if she should do anything without her mentor's approval.

"Go!" the girl suddenly shouted.

With that, Sirius seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in and jumped up on the hippogriff. In no time, he had taken off and Harry and the girl had disappeared.

"Rachel!" Tonks shouted. "That was going to be my first moment of glory! There goes that…"

"Tonks, let me teach you something," Rachel said. "When you're trying to approach a fugitive or a criminal, the best approach is a silent one. Don't let them know you're there until the big pounce—that's the only time they should see you: when you catch them."

"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Rachel heard Fudge's voice yell.

Rachel looked over at the Minister. "I'm giving my trainee a lesson, Minister," Rachel explained.

"That's not what I mean!" Fudge replied. "Where is Black?"

"Oh, Merlin knows," Rachel answered. "I do know he's not with me."

"You _incompetent_!" Fudge shouted. "I'll have your job swept out from under you like a rug!"

"Ah, ah, ah," Rachel said. "You won't want to do that, Minster."

"And why's that?" Fudge asked challengingly.

Rachel sighed. "Lestrange, all three mind you, Mulciber, Rosier, Karkaroff—need I continue?" she replied, counting off name after name. Names of Death Eaters she had single-handedly arrested after the Wizarding War.

Oh, and Fudge was positively fuming. It was _splendid_.

"That's what I thought," Rachel said. "Good day sir."

Rachel turned and walked off, Tonks following behind her. While Rachel felt triumphant, her mind was elsewhere.

She just couldn't shake off that annoying little smirk Sirius gave her before flying off. He never changed.

* * *

_July 31, 1994_

Rachel sipped her tea as she sat on the couch, reading a book. She wished she could send Harry a present for his birthday, but the boy didn't even know who she was and would no doubt find it creepy. So obviously, Rachel had decided against it.

Suddenly, Rachel was startled by a loud bang on her window. She looked up and saw an owl peeling itself from the glass, flapping its wings madly.

Rachel stood up, frowning, and strode across the floors of her flat. The flat felt odd after Sirius had been imprisoned, but Rachel couldn't bring herself to move out of it. Somewhere deep inside, she still felt hope that the Wizengamot would see their mistake and free him and they could continue their life as normal.

Obviously, that didn't happen.

Rachel opened the window and allowed the small barn owl to fly on and rest on her owl perch and snack on some owl treats in a small bowl. Rachel untied the letter from the bird's foot and sat down. Her eyes scanned the envelope. Her name was written on it in a messy scrawl that could only belong to one person. Sirius.

Quickly, Rachel tore open the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of parchment inside. She unfolded the letter and read it.

_Dear Rachel,_

_Yes, I would say that that was a really late reply, however, I took longer to reply, so I win. Don't be so shocked, this isn't the first time that I did something better than you. And don't scoff in that way that you do whenever you think I'm speaking bollocks. I know you just did it._

_Anyways, I guess you know by now that I've broken out of Azkaban… then got resentenced… and then, evidently, I broke out again. Believe me when I say that it took all of my willpower to not whisk you away with me on the hippogriff, but I didn't for two reasons: 1) that would've been putting you in danger and 2) the hippogriff wasn't accustomed to you (yes, this does count as a reason)._

_So that's that. I suppose life goes on, but for now, I'm on the run. Don't try and look for me, but you can send me letters. That owl is smart—it'll find me again. Just wanted to write to you again because, well, I've missed you. I mean, who am I kidding? I love you; obviously I missed you. Hopefully, this running around stuff will be over soon and I can keep that small promise of mine and turn my amazing fiancée into my amazing wife._

_Stay in touch,_

_Padfoot_

Rachel felt her face stretching into the widest grin known to mankind. This was possibly the most comforting news she'd had in along time. Sirius was okay, at least for now.

But Rachel wasn't worried. They'd figure it out along the way.

* * *

_August 29, 1994_

"You've got to be kidding me?" Rachel asked.

Dumbledore gave his former student a small smile. "No, I fear not," he chuckled. "As much as you may hate it, I need your help, Miss Fredricks, especially in these times and with the sudden revival of the Triwizard Tournament."

"Yeah, but…" Rachel trailed off. "I don't want to babysit a bunch of kids," she finally said.

Dumbledore laughed. "Miss Fredricks, I advise you to tell yourself the truth," he said. "You and I both know you don't like this position change because you refuse to do field work ever since those traumatizing four years of hunting down Death Eaters. But listen here: there are going to be many students and many things to fear this school year. Experience like yours is needed to watch over and protect everyone at Hogwarts."

Rachel sighed. How on earth could she say no to the old man? "All right, fine," she grumbled. "Thanks, I suppose." Rachel was probably the only person that hated promotions.

"You are very welcome," Dumbledore said. "And I think you may enjoy this year. Who knows? You might even get to talk to Harry a bit."

"Yes, I suppose. At least you didn't make me the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Rachel said. "By the way, who _is_ taking that post this year?"

"Ah, how convenient this should be," Dumbledore said observingly. "It is none other than your former mentor."

Rachel's face fell. "Great. A whole school year of 'Constant vigilance, Fredricks!' No thanks."

Dumbledore smiled. "I thought you might enjoy that tidbit of news."

* * *

**Heh, okay, that's that then :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-How was Sirius's letter?  
-Favourite line?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	38. A Promise to Keep Forever

**A/N: Hey guys, I have some sad news... this is the last chapter. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this and I want to thank you all for reading this story and sticking with it. Lots of love to everyone :)**

* * *

_September 1, 1994_

The Great Hall was bustling with talk as students dug into the feast prepared for them. Rachel's eyes slowly dragged over the students' faces. Some looked familiar, but only because it was simple to tell who their parents were. Like that blond boy at the Slytherin table was most certainly Lucius Malfoy's son. If only he let his hair grew out the two would look exactly the same.

And then there was Harry.

Rachel knew she couldn't exactly approach him. What would she say? _Oh, hi, I was your mom's best friend and your godfather's girlfriend, so how's life?_ Didn't exactly seem like it would be the smoothest conversation ever.

Anyways, after Mad-Eye's grandiose entrance, there seemed to be a lot of hushed talking the Great Hall, both among the students and the teachers. Rachel considered talking to Moody and had actually planned to have a nice conversation over dinner with her past mentor, but he seemed a bit on edge. Rachel knew from experience that it was best not to talk to the man in that state.

At the same time, he seemed quite joyous when he took a heaping bite out of a chicken leg.

With a sigh, Rachel's eyes continued skimming over the Great Hall from the corner she was standing guard at. Maybe she should thank Dumbledore for putting her in this working position. It seemed pretty relaxed to her.

* * *

_February 23, 1994_

Five months Rachel had been stationed at Hogwarts, and now she finally understood why Dumbledore asked her to do this. The revival of the Triwizard Tournament wasn't exactly the safest thing in the world. Having a few ready and armed Aurors at have may have been a smart idea.

Especially when the Boy Who Lived was at the center of attention.

It absolutely infuriated Rachel that Dumbledore would allow this. How could she just let a fourteen year-old boy participate in some of the most dangerous games of the Wizarding World? In the end, Rachel supposed Harry was the only reason she stuck around in her post at Hogwarts. She felt this responsibility to protect him.

And then there was something else that bothered Rachel. Moody was acting a bit strange. She had known the man since she was seventeen, and while in the past few years she had only spoken to him through letters, she knew him well enough to know that something was definitely up with him.

However, Rachel had other matters to worry about. Like Harry. She had to keep a close eye on him and make sure he didn't get into any trouble. By now he'd probably spotted her lurking around him often. If Harry didn't, then his friend Hermione surely did. But besides, Rachel's lurking paid off. She was fairly sure that Harry was in contact with Sirius.

Which now brought her to Sirius, her other worry. They had been exchanging letters and Sirius managed to fill her in on everything going on with him as best as he could using code. Sometimes, the code took hours to decipher and sometimes it took Rachel mere seconds. Despite that, every letter was comforting and assured her that he was alive, which was enough for her.

With all of these things on her mind, Rachel wasn't sure she could keep track. When her mind would think of one thing, it would then wander to another and she'd get distracted. At least her Auror life wasn't too exciting.

Rachel strolled through the halls of Hogwarts and passed by Moody's office. In a last-minute decision, she knocked on the door lightly and pushed it open. Rachel stuck her head in and smiled. "Hello, Moody," she greeted. "How are you doing today?"

Moody looked up suddenly, his face blank. In a split second he let out a grunt in greeting. "Fine, and you, Fredricks?" he asked.

"All right I suppose," Rachel replied. "I was just wondering—"

Suddenly, the large, old chest in his office shook violently and a loud scream came from it. Rachel's eyes widened. "What the bloody hell is in there?" she asked.

"You don't want to know," Moody answered. "Let me tell you though: it was more than an eye for an eye."

Rachel nodded slowly. "Right…" she said. "Well I guess I'll see you around."

* * *

_August 2, 1995_

Honestly, Rachel was an idiot. She had been telling herself so for two and a half months.

How the hell did she not connect Moody's oddness to him just not being Moody? Rachel had to face the truth: she was getting old.

Nevertheless, she'd have to stop letting that whole situation with Barty Crouch Jr. bug her so much. At least the matter had been resolved and Harry hadn't been hurt. Although, now there was a new problem at hand: Voldemort was back, even if the Ministry was denying it.

And this was possibly how Rachel found herself as part of the Order all over again.

Honestly, if Rachel knew that after years of devoting herself to having a calm and peaceful life she would just end up in the same whirlwind as before, she wouldn't have even bothered. However, this was another thing she'd just have to let go. Rachel didn't have the time to let these things bother her.

"So, where are the new Order headquarters anyways?" Rachel asked as her and Emmeline turned onto a small Muggle street with low-rise apartment buildings.

Emmeline smirked. "You'll see," she said.

Rachel sighed. "Tonks, you want to tell me?" she asked, turning to the younger woman.

"Sadly, I was sworn to secrecy," Tonks answered. "But honestly, I don't see the big deal."

"That's because you don't _know_, Tonks," Emmeline insisted. "Anyways, we're here."

Rachel looked around. "Where?"

With another smirk, Emmeline thumped her broomstick against the pavement three times, each hit echoing into the night. Suddenly, the apartment buildings numbered '11' and '13' started being pushed apartment as an old, narrow house numbered '12' appeared.

"Welcome to 12 Grimmauld Place," Emmeline said. "Let's go."

Rachel followed after Tonks and Emmeline into the house. Rachel was immediately surprised by the narrow hallway. Honestly, you'd think wizards would use their magical abilities to make some more space to walk on the inside. Rachel was glad when they reached the foot of the stairs and they were able to stand together so she could see both Emmeline and Tonks.

"So this place is really old and musty, huh?" Rachel said observingly. "What happened? Does the Order suddenly have a really low budget?"

"_FILTHY MUDBLOODS!_"

Rachel jumped and screamed loudly as a scratchy, high-pitched voice shrieked behind her. She ran straight into Tonks and turned around to see a pair of curtains pulled apart revealing a painting of an old woman dressed in black.

"Wow, these are some really smart headquarters," Rachel said, still trying to steady her heart rate. "You'd never guess the Order gathers here."

"_ALL OF THIS FILTHY BLOOD IN MY HOUSE!_"

"Yeah, um, speaking of," Rachel said, turning to face Emmeline and Tonks. "Whose house is this anyway? It could use some serious sprucing up. This place is just downright depressing."

"Uh, funny you should bring that up—"

"_HOW COULD YOU BE SO IGNORANT OF THE ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK!_"

"The ancient house of—?" Rachel suddenly paused as realization dawned on her. "Wow, you guys are _unbelievable_. Em, you are the _worst _friend ever."

"I'm sorry, did you just say '_best_ friend ever'?" Emmeline asked. "Yes, I thought you did."

"How could you not tell me—?"

"Oi, just shut up and come up here, will you?"

Rachel's mouth clamped shut and her head slowly turned and looked up the stairs. Her mouth dropped open again as she saw Sirius standing at the top of the stairs. There he was, just ten feet away from her. He was so close and there was no reason they would suddenly be pulled apart again. Her face broke out into a large smile.

And then she ran up the stairs and crashed straight into Sirius, her arms wrapping around him right away. He immediately hugged her back and pulled her as close tom him as he could.

After a long moment, Emmeline asked, "So how long are you going to stand there like that?"

"How's fourteen years?" Rachel replied, her voice muffled by Sirius's shoulder.

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "I'll be in the kitchen, eating," she said. "Come on, Tonks. These two have some serious catching up to do."

"Wait, they were—" Tonks paused. "Aw, come on, Rachel. You mentored me for over a year and never mentioned this once?"

"Tonks, move it," Emmeline said threateningly. "Or I'm calling you by your first name."

Tonks grumbled something about always being in the dark and followed after Emmeline.

Rachel pulled away slightly and looked at Sirius. Her eyes skimmed over his face. He had aged, but he still had that same smirk on his face and that same look in his eye when you could tell he was up to something. Looking at him, Rachel couldn't believe that he was in her arms again.

"So, here we are—" Sirius started.

"—just bloody kiss me, you idiot," Rachel interrupted.

Sirius smirked and leaned forward to meet their lips. The kiss was exactly what it should've been. All of the things they ever felt in one simple action. Slow and gentle but at the same time there was something about the way their lips moved that seemed passionate and needy.

And even after all that time, Rachel still felt tingles go up her spine.

When they pulled apart, they were both smiling at each other uncontrollably. "How about we do it right this time?" Rachel asked.

"Oh? How so?" Sirius asked.

"Well, we've found ourselves in another Wizarding War," Rachel started, "but we'll fight through it. What I mean is, no more obstacles between us getting married. I swear to Merlin, if one more thing comes up, be it Azkaban or whatever, someone will get hurt and I will tear that bloody obstacle to the ground."

Sirius laughed. "Basically, we're getting through this together, no matter what," Sirius concluded.

Rachel smiled. "No matter what," she repeated.

* * *

_July 3, 1996_

Moody sighed as he dropped the two files on his desk. He had been torturing himself with them for a while now. The man had seen many things in his long career as an Auror and been through a lot of hardships, but for some reason, nothing hit him quite as hard as this one event. He felt guilty for some reason, like he had not met his responsibilities.

He sat down and opened the first file and read through it:

_Name: Sirius Orion Black  
__Appearance: 5 f 10 in, black hair, grey eyes, 160 lbs  
__Blood Status: Pureblood  
__Wand: 15 inches, Birchwood, unicorn hair core, flexible  
__Profession: -  
__Loyalties: Gryffindor House, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, The Order of the Phoenix  
__Date/Location of Birth: November 1, 1959; St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, London  
__Date/Location of Death: June 18, 1996; Death Chamber, Ministry of Magic, London  
__Cause of Death: The Killing Curse, executed by Bellatrix Lestrange_

Moody closed the file and pushed it aside. He opened up the other one and sadly skimmed through it:

_Name: Rachel Morag Fredricks  
__Appearance: 5 f 6 in, light brown hair, hazel eyes, 120 lbs  
__Blood Status: Halfblood/Muggle-born  
__Wand: 13 inches, Pine, dragon heartstring core, hard  
__Profession: Auror  
__Loyalties: Gryffindor House, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, The Order of the Phoenix, Ministry of Magic  
__Date/Location of Birth: June 25, 1960; Crichton Royal Hospital, Scotland  
__Date/Location of Death: June 18, 1996; Death Chamber, Ministry of Magic, London  
__Cause of Death: The Killing Curse, executed by Bellatrix Lestrange_

Moody closed file and pushed it away as well. He let out a sad sigh. He could've prevented this. Rachel had been his favourite student and she had been happiest with Sirius, and they were both gone now at the hands of one Death Eater. What was worse was that Harry had started to get along with Rachel. He had welcomed her as family.

Moody knew he had to move on from this. There were plans to be put into place. A new war was dawning on the world and they had to be prepared, and there was one thing Moody could promise.

This war would be won and Rachel and Sirius would be damn proud.

* * *

**So, that was it. I didn't have the heart to write out Rachel watching Sirius die. it made me so sad and I honestly couldn't handle it.**

**-How did you like the story?  
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**Thank you so much for reading and I hope many of you stick around for some of my other writing :) xx**


	39. Epilogue

**A/N: SO I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THIS IS AWKWARD. The best explanation is: Right after I posted the last chapter I thought about whether that was fair of me to you guys and about how that wasn't even a proper epilogue. Then today, I was reading through the reviews and basically the love/hate for the last chapter was split 50/50 (no joke). And then my heart broke because while I didn't write out the extremely painful death scene, I realized I put you guys in some pain (so like that's any better for me). So this is what I came up with at 3 in the morning and decided, against my better judgment, to post. It's more of a short epilogue and it's in a completely different POV :)**

* * *

_August 15, 1996_

The house felt wrong. It had always felt wrong, now that Harry thought about it, but now it also felt empty and sad.

And it also made him angrier than ever before.

He looked around and tried not to tear down the wallpaper. He couldn't believe that Sirius was just gone out of his life, just as quickly as he'd come back into it. But Harry supposed what was worse was that Bellatrix Lestrange had hit two birds with one stone, and those two birds were very precious to Harry. Despite the fact that he knew it was wrong, Harry was feeling the need to chase down that Death Eater and hex her within an inch of her life.

Because he hadn't just lost Sirius that day, but also Rachel Fredricks, who he had only known for a short time, but certainly long enough. If Sirius had been a small part of his father, then Rachel was a small part of his mother. The thought of that made Harry wince in pain. It was like loosing his parents all over again.

But most of all, he felt sorry for Rachel. It was so obvious those two had been immensely special to each other. They cared about each other in a completely different way that they cared for other people. What Harry admired most about them was that they weren't acting like they were _so in love_, but that they seemed to be entirely comfortable around each other. Harry remembered noting that when he was at Grimmauld Place for Christmas.

_Harry had woken up, cold sweat on the back of his neck from his most recent nightmare. He had gone down the stairs to get a glass of water when he heard someone in the living room. Curious to see who it was, he hid by the door and looked inside._

_It was Sirius, setting down present after present in a wooden chest. Sirius shut it and looked up and smiled._

"_How many did you buy?" Harry heard someone ask. It was Rachel._

"_Enough to fit into this chest," Sirius replied with a smile._

_Rachel came into view and Harry saw her roll her eyes. "Fine, then how many are Harry's?" she asked_

"_Oh, a good chunk of them," Sirius replied matter-of-factly._

_Rachel laughed softly. "Don't spoil him; he'll get used to it and turn into his cousin," Rachel said jokingly._

"_Lily's son could never be like that spoiled brat," Sirius replied._

"_Yeah, yeah, I know," Rachel said dismissively. "It was worth a shot, though."_

_Sirius smiled and stretched his arm out. Rachel smiled back and walked into his arms. The two stood there embracing for a while. Harry decided to leave, feeling intrusive. Then, right before turning away, he heard Sirius say, "Merlin, I've missed you."_

"_Oi, you've been saying that for a long time now," Rachel whined. "I think you can stop now. It's pretty ingrained."_

"_Just reminding you," Sirius said._

The two had laughed and gone to the kitchen for tea and Harry went back to bed that night. Instead of going back to sleep, Harry lay down in bed and thought about the incident. Truth be told, when Harry first met Rachel, he thought her and Sirius's relationship would've been awkward. Harry didn't see Sirius with anyone. But Rachel had proven him wrong. The two worked together perfectly and had one of the most admirable relationships Harry had seen.

When Harry thought about the two of them, his mind wandered to his parents and… well, Ginny, as weird as it seemed. Not that he'd ever admit that aloud.

But that didn't matter. His problems seemed so small compared to what Rachel must've gone through. She had seen Sirius get hit with that Killing Curse, right in front of her. For four seconds of silence, Rachel watched in shock as Sirius fell through the Veil, the same joking smile on his face. Harry could see the pain and disbelief n her face. And that was when Bellatrix made her move. Rachel had been too distracted. She couldn't have defended herself.

Harry felt the anger well up in him again. _I can't think about this anymore_, he scolded himself. _Neither Rachel nor Sirius would want me getting angry over them._ Harry tried to push the anger out of his mind. He tried to think that, if there was an after life after all, Sirius and Rachel were probably together right now, with his parents, laughing at everyone that was alive over tea and scones.

It honestly wasn't that hard to imagine from the stories Rachel had told him about Lily and James.

Besides, he knew that if his parents or Sirius or even Rachel saw him worrying about them when he had the whole Wizarding World to save, they would probably give him a good smack upside the head.

So that was his concern now. Solving this whole Voldemort problem. After that, he would be able to properly mourn everyone that had ever died for him. What he was going through now didn't do them justice.

Harry decided in that moment on something: if he ever thought about Rachel and Sirius or his parents again, he'd think of them rooting on him from wherever they were now.

And thank Merlin for that, because that was exactly what they were doing.

* * *

**Okay, so that was the epilogue, and it was a properly written one too. Some of you guys still hate me probably, but I have many reasons for ending this now and not continuing on it any longer, but the big one was that this was always a bit of a shaky story for me and at one point I thought to myself 'how much more can I honestly elaborate on this?'**

**Anyways, I hope you really enjoyed this story and some of you guys should keep in touch with me because seriously, you guys are awesome for sticking with me for so long :D**

**-Amelia xx**


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